


Knowing Where to Run

by keeping_10_people_happy_is_tricky



Series: Knowing... [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU slightly, Age Difference, Character death in the first chapter, Clint's getting too old for this shit, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fighting, First Crush, General Deadpool Fuckery, Laura is Clints sister, Loki likes messing with Clint, M/M, Mentions of PTSD, Smut, Superheroes, k10phit, spoilers for Age of Ultron, will update as I go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-03-28 22:35:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 53,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3872272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keeping_10_people_happy_is_tricky/pseuds/keeping_10_people_happy_is_tricky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After AoU, things have settled. Clint has been staying with his sister while visiting Stark tower with the others. But when a certain speedster develops very obvious feelings towards the archer, things stop being so settled. Pietro is young and has never been in love but is adamant about his feelings. Clint disagrees. This also sets the team apart as they bet whether or not the archer and the runner would be good together. Then add killer robots, the merc with the mouth and a Jotun Asgardian and things get interesting. It's been a very long day for Clint. </p><p>MAMA IS BACK BABY!!!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hullo there.  
> So this is my first time outside of the Hobbit fandom though I am no stranger to the Marvel universe.  
> I'm going to say this once more, Age of Ultron spoilers.  
> This entire first chapter is a recap of Clint and Pietro's parts in the film and then some.  
> This was really impulsive. I saw the movie recently and I was still too caught up in the action and the whole Bruce and Natasha pairing that Clint and Pietro kind of slipped my mind. But then I saw one picture on tumblr and I was like "No. Don't do this to me. Fuck."  
> And now here I am writing a fic about them.  
> Isn't life grand?  
> Anyways, please let me know what you think because I'm excited to add more to this. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint and Pietro's parts in AoU and then some.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ship is killing me and I can't help but contribute!

It started with that one stupid question.  
Clint knew that his aim was true. When the first shot didn’t explode, he tried again. It messed with him because Clint never, _ever,_ missed. So what-  
The next thing Clint knew was a push backwards and was sent thudding to the cold, snow ground. Years of training caused him to roll back onto his knees without thought. _Get up, keep going._  
When he looked up, a young man walked past him with a cocky expression and white hair with black roots. The kid even had stubble.  
“You didn’t see that coming?” And just like that, the kid with the Sokovian accent, dashed off faster than anything the archer had seen. Instinct made him stand and aim. Arrow pointed where the young man had been but was no longer. Clint’s mind hadn’t exactly caught up. And it didn’t get much of a chance to.  
He heard the noise less that a second before he felt it. Searing, burning pain on his right side. The pain had him groaning and the impact sent him to the ground. Clint heard Natasha calling his name. He knew she was coming to him. Over the intercom he could hear her and Cap.  
“ _We have an enhanced on the field,_ ” Cap said, his voice soldier calm.  
“ _Clint’s hit._ ” Nat said one moment and was at Clint’s side the next. The archer didn’t hear what she said next but felt as she pressed a cloth to his wound. Cap and Stark said a few words but all Clint managed to get was what Stark said.  
“ _The drawbridge is down, people._ ” Good, they could get the power source, Loki’s sceptre and get the rest of the damn Hydra bastards.  
“Allow me,” Thor said in his Asgardian accent. With a few grunts and a boat-load of pain, Clint had his left arm over Thor’s shoulders while Thor held him. Then they were flying. Now Clint had been through hell and back but the one thing he’d never get used too was the flying with Thor. Just no.  
Thor set him down inside the Quinjet and the next thing Clint knew was darkness.

The arrow he could see. There was no way Pietro could miss it. Everything moved so slowly that the speedster could even see each snowflake as it fell. But what the hell did he care. The first time he had been allowed to fight, well not allowed exactly, Pietro was not going to miss out.  
Pietro waited till the last minute before the arrow hit the bunker. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the archer duck back behind the tree. The speedster made sure to snap the arrow head off to deactivate it. Then archer tried again and well, it was just too easy. Pietro ran right up to him and watched for a moment while the other man was sent flying back. By the time they had rolled onto their knees, Pietro strolled past him. A smug sense of victory came over the Sokovian and he couldn’t help the smirk.  
“You didn’t see that coming?” And he was off once again. But there was something about the sight of that archer that stuck with Pietro though he tried to shake it off by knocking over the man in blue with the shield.  
The thought, without Pietro Maximoff realising, did not make sense but he knew it was important.

The next time Clint ever saw the kid was in Wakanda along the African coast. There was an old, dark factory where some vibranium was kept and machine and metal all over the place. Vibranium was what Ultron, Stark’s homicidal AI driven robot, wanted. Already Clint could see the cracks in the team but he focused on the mission at hand. Stark was busy fighting Ultron which was just a mess of metal scraping metal. Banner was kept back in the Quinjet because it wasn’t code green. The others, Clint hadn’t checked in with. What the archer didn’t know was that they had all been mind-messed with and were pretty much useless. Clint was busy being high up and shooting the soldiers he saw.  
When all of them were down, Clint stood for a moment with his hands by his sides and took a breath. The feeling ghosted over the back of he left arm. In a split second, Clint had an arrow and slammed it on the mind messing girl called Wanda. The arrow head split open and sent electricity through her.  
“I’ve done the whole mind control thing,” said the archer with mild interest. “Not a fan.”  
Then the poor archer was kicked over the railing and through glass. He fell heavily onto the table in the office of the factory. With a groan, he looked up and saw the same white and black haired kid. This time he managed to make out the blue of his eyes which were icy. The kid held Wanda in his arms and glared at Clint before dashing off in a streak of blue and white.  
“Yeah, you’d better run,” he grumbled.  
  
‘ _That archer,’_ Pietro thought, ripping the arrow off of his sister’s forehead. He picked her up and gave the man one last look. Groaning and glaring on top of the table; not a threat. Then Pietro ran.  
He took Wanda outside, away from the danger. But their biggest problem was still with them.  
“What can I do?” Pietro asked while his sister cringed in pain. Whatever that archer had done was still hurting her.  
“Ah, it hurts.” Wanda replied, scrunching her eyes. The speedster felt useless. Anger rose up in him and Pietro fumed.  
“I’m going to kill him,” he hissed. That archer, that wasn’t even special in any way, had hurt his family. “I’ll be right back.”  
“No, no, no.” Wanda pleaded so Pietro stopped. “I’m alright,” she huffed. “I want- I want to finish the plan. I want the big one.”

Being back at home, at the farm house, was a little strange. Clint didn’t feel different but having a playboy philanthropist, a demi-god and a ninety-something year old soldier in his sister’s house was. Not that he minded having Nat there since she had been there almost as many times as he had. His niece and nephew adored Natasha so Laura was more than happy to let their friend stay.  
That night, after dinner, everyone had gone off on their own and Laura managed to find a moment alone with her brother. Even she could see the cracks in the team. But then again, Laura was always more perceptive than Clint was despite his better eyesight.  
And what Clint didn’t know was that Laura had seen him every so often staring blankly.  
“What is it?” She asked, putting a hand on his shoulder while he sat in the ugly old chair by the window.  
“What’s what?” He asked, taking a sip from his beer. God he had missed the stupid simplicity of this life. But he knew the docility of it wouldn’t hold him or the others for long.  
“You seem distracted.”  
“Yeah? Well there is a crazy killer robot on the loose and everyone’s a bit miffed with everyone.”  
“Are you sure that’s all?”  
“I’m sure,” Clint answered with a reassuring smile. Laura let it drop and went to bed. Clint stayed in the ugly chair, staring out of the window. What he didn’t notice was that among his initial thoughts, another one zipped through for a second at a time. Very much like the subject of that fleeting thought.

Pietro let his sister rest, the room they had was small and slightly cold. But there were beds with blankets so neither sibling complained. He left their shared bedroom to stand out in the empty hallway. It was an old building and the windows were dirty. The moonlight wasn’t as crisp as it should be. Pietro still worried for his sister.  
That damned archer had badly hurt Wanda despite her protests against his concern. Pietro had to calm his breathing at the thought of the older man. He sat down and closed his eyes; letting his mind wander.  
It wandered to snow and tall, dark, thin trees. It wandered in gunfire and shouting. But then it slowed to an arrow and a surprised look. A sense of triumph rose in him at the memory of the shock. Still, Pietro didn’t know the archer’s name and suddenly felt desperate to.  
He opened his eyes with a glare and huffed. No. There was no point in knowing his name, they called him Hawkeye and that would be enough. It could be written on his tombstone. But at that thought, something he didn’t recognize twisted in his chest. Pietro cursed before standing up. All of his instincts told him to do one thing: run. So he did. He’d be back in an hour or two so he allowed his sister to sleep. All the while, Pietro ran, from what or to where, he didn’t know. Or, he didn’t want to know.

The next time Clint ever saw the kid was after he had found Nat. Sort of. Nat was missing but he had to get the cradle back to Stark. Banner didn’t act any different from his normal self. God, what was wrong with him? But now wasn’t the time for Clint to be thinking on that. Instead he set about going over radio waves. And there she was, coding him her whereabouts.  
He rushed back to tell the others but he heard voices first. Cap had returned, and for some reason the Maximoff twins were with him.  
“Goddammit,” Clint murmured, knowing he’d have to play handler again. But then he saw the Maximoff boy run about and he heard him.  
“No, no, go on. You were saying.” Barton didn’t even flinch. His gun was pointed straight up at the glass floor right under the kid’s feet. One second he was up there, the next he was crashing through the glass.

Pietro saw the bullet, clear as day. Then he was falling and Wanda was calling his name. It hurt when he landed on his back. But then Pietro was faced with the archer standing above him in just a black vest and black pants, the speedster could clearly see the muscle this older guy had. That sight made his mouth go a little dry and his heart race. Pietro put it off up to it obviously being from falling through the glass floor-now-ceiling.  
“What?” Hawkeye asked with a wicked grin. “You didn’t see that coming?”  
But then hell broke loose above them and the archer ran off. Pietro took a second for his breath to even. But that second was all it took for the thunder god to come in and awaken whatever it was that Ultron had created. When it did, it jumped Thor and rushed to the window where it stopped. Pietro got up and went to stand between it and his sister. The duty of the elder sibling.  
The being was a mix between red flesh and silver metal. It seemed impossible, standing there with a cape it had just created with its mind. Thor began going on about infinity stones and the mind gem that sat on the being’s forehead. When the Captain asked why Thor had helped create it, Thor answered.  
“Because Stark is right.”  
“Oh it’s definitely the end times,” the hulk’s human form said.

Clint almost snorted at Bruce’s comment if he wasn’t stunned by what just happened. Thor said that the Avengers couldn’t defeat Ultron alone and the thing agreed. It sounded like Jarvis because Stark and Bruce had used Jarvis’… Well Clint didn’t know but he did know that Jarvis was involved.  
But then came the questions of what it was and if it were on their side. Clint didn’t trust it one iota.  
“… But with it on our side,” Thor said.  
“Is it?” Cap interrupted. Clearly he didn’t trust it either. He turned to the being. “Are you? On our side?”  
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” It replied.  
“Well it’d better get real simple real soon.” Clint snapped.  
“I am on the side of life. Ultron isn’t.”  
After the thing’s speech about trust and Ultron, the dude just picked up _Thor’s friggen hammer_ like it was nothing. Clint knew he wasn’t the only one stunned at the sight. Even Thor. After Cap, Bruce, Stark’s and his own try of lifting the hammer, Thor had ultimately concluded that they just weren’t worthy. And it annoyed the hell out of Clint in the places that weren’t so shocked.  
And after a moment of stunned silence, Thor walked off to follow it while Cap turned to the others. He gave them three minutes.

Sitting on the Quinjet, as they headed towards Sokovia, Pietro was nervous. He had taken the tight fitting clothes meant for runners with the shoes too. He had to admit that they were better than what he used to wear.  
Wanda sat in front of him, her hands on his while she too looked off in space. They both thought of their home and how they were going to save it and their people. Just like the Captain had said. At first Pietro didn’t notice the archer approach them. Last he checked, the man was at the front of the jet with Stark. The speedster only noticed because Wanda had looked up.  
“You kids ok?” Clint (Wanda had told him) asked.  
“We are fine,” Wanda answered though both men knew it was a brave front. Pietro glanced up and saw that the archer was looking at him too. Genuine concern but also bravery was what Pietro found in his eyes. There was no trace of fear. He nodded to Clint then looked back to his sister.  
“Alright then, we land in an hour.” And just like that, Clint left. Pietro watched out of the corner of his eye as the archer went to talk to the Captain. He let his eyes linger for a moment too long and forced his eyes away. Wanda gave him a questioning look which he managed to answer with a _don’t-ask_ look.  
The evacuation of Sokovia was going well but then Ultron became impatient and the robots all came before everyone was safe. Pietro dashed from robot to robot, pulling them apart before throwing them away and moving on to the next one. And then the city started lifting into the air but there were more robots to take out. So they kept fighting.  
At one point during the fighting, he had found Clint. The old man was surrounded but still shooting arrows. Without thought, Pietro ran a ring around the archer and pulled apart most of them. Standing a metre or so from him, Pietro smirked.  
“You’re welcome,” he said before racing off. Thankfully he didn’t miss the glare Clint gave him.  
When things were getting rough, Pietro took a moment to catch his breath. That’s when he heard the Captain over the earpieces.  
“The rest of us have one job: tear these things apart. You get hurt, you hurt ‘em back. You get killed… walk it off.” Pietro sighed with a roll of his eyes before he set off again.  
The next time Pietro came across Clint in the fight, the Captain had inferred that backup was needed. Clint had just said that he and Wanda were going to them. Pietro couldn’t help the timing and rushed in just after Clint had finished and scooped Wanda up in his arms.  
“Keep up old man,” he said as he carried his sister off. Pietro missed Clint aim his bow at him.

Clint had his bow raised and was so damn tempted to shoot the bastard.  
“Nobody would know. Nobody,” he said, lowering his bow. “The last time I saw him, Ultron was sitting on him,” Clint said sarcastically to himself as he put away the arrow and started jogging after them. “Yeah, he’ll be missed, that quick, little bastard. I miss him already.”  
If only he knew.  
All of the people had gotten onto the carrier-ships and Clint, knowing he was done, got on too. But then he heard one woman crying about her son who wasn’t there. Trained eyes scanned the area and soon enough, Clint found the child.  
With a sigh, he ran over the debris and thankfully got to the child. He picked the small boy up in his arms. But then Ultron started firing from a Quinjet and Clint accepted his fate. He turned around and crouched over the boy to shield him from the hail of shots. Clint heard them coming but felt none. After a moment, in the quiet, he opened his eyes and turned. There, as a shield, was a car on its side. But the worst was what was next to the car.  
Pietro stood there, wavering on his legs. Clint stared as Pietro looked at him.  
“You didn’t see that coming,” the young man choked out with a weak smile wavering on his lips. Then collapsed on the ground, shots all over his body and red staining his clothes.  
Clint put the boy down, his mind racing with worry, and went over to Pietro. With steady hands he checked for a pulse. Cap came over and waited for an answer. Clint looked up and his expression said enough. It was Cap who carried Pietro over to the carrier-ship while Clint scooped the boy back up. Something in him cringed at the sight of Cap carrying the speedster. But Clint was too much of an assassin to let his emotions rule him now.  
He gave the boy back to his mother and went over to where Pietro had been laid. The archer pressed a hand to his side and saw blood on his hand. He had been shot too. With a groan he sat down and something old and tired came over him. The sight of the white and black haired boy didn’t faze him because of it. He waved off the medic and laid down on the row of seats just beside Pietro.  
“It’s been a long day,” he groaned. Sleep took him soon after. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?  
> I'm enjoying this a hell of a lot and I hope you guys are too!
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after AoU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, wow and thank you for the amazing response.   
> I certainly didn't expect it.   
> This pair have ruined me already and it's only the second chapter.   
> I just got so excited that I accidentally wrote this in one day and I just couldn't wait to post it.   
> The guys who read my other stories know I'm not good with schedules so this certainly won't be an update a day thing. But it's early days and Mumma is excited.   
> So let's do this!
> 
> Enjoy :)

Clint loved being with his family. His niece and nephew were a hoot and his sister was… well his sister. And she was pregnant again but her husband was away. Another shield agent.   
After the whole mess with Ultron, everyone had gone their separate ways. Cap and Natasha stayed at the new Shield HQ located near where Clint’s sister lived. He heard that Wanda had joined with the new group of Avengers along with Sam (Cap’s friend), Rhodey with the iron patriot and the Vision. That guy still weird Clint out. Stark had gone back to New York with Pepper but he had heard from Natasha that things weren’t all green in that garden. Thor had gone back to Asgard soon after all of it.

So Clint went back to his sister. Staying on duty for too long stressed him out and triggered his panic attacks. All of his years and shield and the mind-fuck from Loki were still taking their toll on the archer. Every now and again he’d had to duck out to the old shed to keep his panic away from his family.

The weather is warm and Clint has on his jeans, a dark green t-shirt and one of his old plaid ones. His sister jokes about him looking too much like a bum. Clint huffs as her. He feels at home in the farm house when he wears these clothes. Everything just fits together except for his ‘Hawkeye gear’.   
Today Clint decides to get started on the dining area. He shifts the table and chairs to the deck that wraps around the house. He then sets up a sheet on the floor and his tools. First things is to get rid of that wall to make more space.   
Laura had voiced her concern about the project. But at Clint’s insistence, she’d agreed. As long as he cleaned up and that the kids kept well away. But not that far away apparently. Both of the kids sat in the lounge, looking over the back of the couch. They watched as their uncle picked up the sledge hammer and was about to swing it.   
“Oh no!” Laura gasped, walking into the lounge. Clint almost hit the wall but pulled himself back mid-swing. “Are you actually going to knock it down?”   
“Yeah,” Clint said, a little surprised and annoyed. “I can’t make more space with the wall in the way. That’s pretty much the entire project.”   
Laura opened her mouth to argue but stopped a second after. She sighed and shook her head.   
“Fine, but you’d better not leave halfway through.”   
“Yeah, yeah. Now would you let me get started.”   
“Yeah mum!”   
“We wanna see uncle Clint smash down the wall!”   
“Hush you two.” Laura said to her kids with an unimpressed look. But she did want to watch her brother smack the wall, if for other reasons. Clint rolled his eyes and swing the hammer back. He brought it forward and cringed at the loud smack. The archer heard the gasp his sister made at the sight of the hammer embedded in the wall. With a little shake, he pulled the hammer back out and the hole doubled in size.   
“Oh god,” Laura sighed and decided she could no longer watch. The kids cheered at the sight and so did Clint. He smacked a few more holes in the wall before the phone started ringing.   
“Clint,” Laura called.   
“Yeah?”   
“It’s for you. Shield needs you to come in.” Clint looked to his sister then to the wall and back.   
“Ah, shit.”   
“Go,” she groaned. “Just go, it’ll be here when you get back.” Clint took a second to kiss his wonderful, amazing (and hopefully-not-going-to-kill-him-later) sister on the cheek before heading up the stairs to grab his gear.   
He said goodbyes to the kids before he left, driving off in the afternoon heat. It wasn’t that he was eager to leave his sister and the kids. But he had been there for more than a while. And Clint was tempted to admit that he enjoyed smacking holes into that wall a little too much. But Laura really didn’t have to know that. Ever.

The new SHIELD HQ was located about half an hour drive from Laura’s; along farm roads. It stood out like a sore thumb among the trees and the green grass. Lots of glass, a weird circular fence and the large A logo on the side of one of the walls. There were also a couple of Quinjets parked on the landing in front of the large glass wall.   
But strangely enough, Clint felt like it belonged there. Or maybe it was him belonging there. Well whatever, the point was that Clint was at the SHIELD HQ that was in the middle of a field. There.   
As Clint drove up to the gate, a guard stood there with his gun. With one look and Clint, he went back to his little booth and buzzed for the gate to open. The archer gave him a friendly nod as he drove past.   
The garage was located underground so he had to drive through a curving tunnel. There were several other cars there and Clint immediately noticed Cap’s motorbike.   
“Still haven’t changed,” Clint commented to himself, getting out of his truck. As Clint made his way inside, he passed several other agents and some scientists. They were all talking and walking around like bloody bees. “Damn, this place is busy.”   
“Careful, Cap might hear you.” The archer turned around to see his best friend walking his way.   
“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” With a smile, Clint wrapped an arm around Natasha’s shoulders and hugged her.   
“Glad to see you too,” she said. Nat was in her shield outfit, much like Clint. “How’s the family?”   
“Alright, the kids are home for the summer so Laura’s happy.”   
The pair started off towards the main entrance. They knew that Steve would want to see Clint and the archer wanted to check up on Wanda.   
“So, any word from Bruce?” Clint knew it was a touchy subject. But if Nat didn’t talk to him about, she’d never talk about it.   
“Yeah, some generic postcard that said ‘sorry’. That’s about it.”   
“What, and we don’t have some freaky piece of technology that can find out where the postcard was sent from?”   
“I’ll ask Stark the next time we’re in New York.” Clint chuckled slightly which earned him a small twitch of a grin from Nat. Always the charmer. The idea of Nat and Bruce together wasn’t something Clint would put on his list of ‘things he could see coming from a mile away’. He knew that Nat was able to calm the hulk down. But he didn’t think that it would turn into an all-out romance; angst included. But then the hulk had disappeared. Gone off the grid. This time SHIELD didn’t have any tabs on him like when Banner was in Calcutta. He was gone. Clint still remembered how broken Natasha was and how lost she looked. Clint wanted to smack the damn scientist over for hurting his best friend like that. He would have if anyone knew where he was. Seriously, it was one thing to lose a man in ice, but the hulk? Some things just didn’t make sense to Clint some days.   
The main entrance was really big. The large glass wall to their left let in a hell of a lot of sunshine that Clint wasn’t quite used to. The windows made even more glare, along with the tiled floor. Also, there were more people walking back and forth. He could hear the heels of women’s shoes clacking along the ground and the rustling of paper. It was a whole lot noisier in that one moment then it had been for the past months.

“Barton,” Steve called as he walked to the pair from the other side of the main entrance. A couple of the female staff and a few males turned to look at Steve. Clint dutifully ignored it. He was a way better dancer than Cap anyways.   
“Hey Cap, how’s it going?” Steve was wearing his dark blue jeans and a tight white, buttoned shirt. Clint was afraid that the poor shirt would rip if Steve made one wrong move.   
“Not so good,” Steve said, worry edging in his tone.   
“What’s going on?” Nat asked.   
“Wanda’s been gone for the past week. She hasn’t been with you?”   
“No,” answered Clint. It was a fair question. Clint had become an unspoken baby sitter for the Maximoff girl and sort of like an uncle. She was a good kid, just with a troubled past and a freaky repertoire of powers. Nothing Clint wasn’t used to.   
“Damn,” Steve huffed. Then his jaw clenched a second after and his eyes narrowed.   
“Oh no,” Nat began mockingly. “Cap said a naughty word.”   
“I’m about to say a few more if you’re not careful Romanov.” Natasha smirked at Cap before becoming serious.   
“I’ll go talk to Hill, see if she can tell us something.”   
“I’ll go check with the team.” The two went their separate ways, leaving Clint standing in the middle of the main entrance by himself.   
“What about me?” Clint called after Cap.   
“Go call Stark. See if he knows.” Clint nodded to the order and went over to the desk.   
“I need to borrow your phone,” the archer said to one of the men behind the desk. He was a young guy and knew not to say no. There was a childish sense of pride that Clint felt because of that.   
Clint dialled Stark’s number and waited for it to ring three times. But it wasn’t Tony who answered.   
“Hello, Stark residence.”   
“Who’s this?” Clint asked, a little thrown off at it not being Stark.   
“This is Colonel Rhodes, who’s this?”   
“Rhodey? It’s Barton. What are you doing answering Stark’s calls?”   
“Oh, hey man. I guess you haven’t heard.”   
“Heard what?” There was a pause on the other end. Clint got a little worried but not too much. Rhodey’s tone hadn’t been too grim.   
“Pepper and Tony split.”   
“No way.” The news hit Clint like a shock. Clint remembered so clearly how proud Tony was of Pepper and how Stark got all macho when he talked about her to Thor. Clint didn’t miss the arguments those two got into about their ladies.   
“Yeah, Tony’s taking it pretty hard. It did only happen last week.”   
“Damn, does anyone else know?”   
“Happy, myself, I think Fury knows but that’s only so he wouldn’t ask Tony to do something.”   
“Man that sucks, I’m so sorry. Should I let the team know?”   
“Yeah, that’d be helpful. So what’d you call for?”   
“Oh right, I was gonna ask Stark if he knew where Wanda was.”   
“I don’t think he’s in any mood to talk. Sorry, and I don’t really want to put him into that situation just yet. He has enough depression to deal with.”   
“No, I got you. We’ll find her the old fashion way. Take care of Stark for us.”   
“Will do.” Then the line went dead. Clint was still trying to wrap his head around the news when he started dialling another number.   
“Hello?”   
“Nat? It’s Me.”   
“Did Stark know where Wanda is?”   
“No, not really. Hey I gotta tell you something.” When Natasha didn’t say anything, Clint continued. “Tony and Pepper broke up and now Tony’s wallowing in heartbreak.”   
“Jesus.”   
“I know, so we’re leaving him out of it for a bit. Can you tell Cap?”   
“Why? What are you going to do?”   
“I just gotta go do some shooting practise. I’m starting to feel a little cramped.” Natasha got Clint’s meaning right away.   
“Sure, shoot away. We’ll come get you if anything comes up.”   
“Cheers.” And the line went dead once more.

There was always something calming about shooting arrows, for Clint. He couldn’t put it down to either the aiming or the actual hitting of the target. But Clint never missed. What point was there in missing if you were trying to be the best? None.   
The shooting range was empty, thankfully. There were guns lined up on the walls behind a glass case but none of them had been touched. The bow and arrows that sat neatly in a drawer had been removed. Now they were being used properly by the Avengers’ own archer.   
The arrow hit the mark once more and Clint huffed with a pleased grin. The novelty of hitting the mark over and over still hadn’t worn off.   
Without thought, Clint drew another arrow and set it against the bow. He pulled he string back to his chin. The bow was aimed and Clint wasted no time in letting it fly. He waited for the sound which always came before the sight. But it didn’t.   
Clint looked over at the fresh target that was untouched. Clint glared his confusion and pulled another arrow. Again he set it against the bow, pulled the string back, had the shot and let it fly. Once more, the sounds didn’t come and there was no arrow on the target. Something buzzed in the back of Clint’s mind, a memory. He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of _that_ voice from behind him. Clint turned around and saw someone he never thought he’d see again.   
“You didn’t see that coming?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who? :D  
> There will be explanations next chapter.   
> So what do you guys think?   
> Hawksilver are ruining me and are giving me strength at the same time.   
> They really are super.   
> Alright you guys have a fantastic day! 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group goes to New York and Pietro isn't as subtle as he'd hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are insane!!!  
> I love you.  
> Now back to the Hawksilver :D
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Stand still you little bastard!” Clint snarled, letting another arrow fly. He watched as the white and black haired boy turned into a blur of blue and white once again.  
Pietro was alive. That little, fast bastard was alive. When Clint had turned, Pietro was standing there in the same sort of clothes he had died in and with the same arrogant smirk he had when Clint had first seen him. Clint was going to kill him all over again.  
“Quit running!” The archer had chased the speedster into the large training room. More space for the kid to run about but not as many places to hide. Which was good for Clint.  
“No!” Pietro’s voice called from Clint’s right. He let and arrow fly in that direction. “You might hit me!” His voice called from behind the archer.  
“That’s kind of the plan.” The words came out quite and were more meant for Clint rather than the speedster. “This is just making the balance of the universe right, or something.” Clint called out, eyes scanning for the Sokovian. “Something comes back from the dead, bad shit starts happening. I’m only doing the universe a favour.”  
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, old man.”  
Clint turned around and there was Pietro with no bullet holes or dirt like last time. Clint still had his arrow ready and pulled but he pointed it down. He saw how Pietro’s shoulders fell a little. Good, false sense of security.  
“You’re not happy to see me?” Pietro asked with a lopsided smirk that could have been flirtatious if he wasn’t such a cocky kid.  
“Nope,” Clint replied before aiming his arrow above the speedster. Pietro didn’t understand at first and watched as the archer released the arrow. Which then broke the lock on the cupboard above Pietro and a whole lot of training mats came slipping out. A small flash of joy came over Clint at the sight of Pietro trying to get out of the way but ultimately being knocked down by several mats. Then the kid started cursing in Sokovian. Maybe an arrow to the leg would help that.  
“What the hell is going on?”  
Clint turned to see Steve rounding the corner from the shooting range. There was that soldier’s stiffness about Steve’s walk and Clint realized that he was on edge.  
“I’m just trying to get rid of the zombie.” Clint replied.  
“What?” Steve stared at Barton incredulously before turning to the pile of mats.  
“I’m not a zombie!” Pietro cried, wriggling out from under the mats. Clint’s grip on his bow and arrow tightened slightly.  
“What the hell is going on?” Steve barked, putting on his soldier voice.  
“Wait, I can explain.” Both Steve and Clint turned to see Wanda standing a wee ways behind them. And suddenly Pietro was standing beside his sister with her hand in his.  
“Well you’d better, because I’ve been needing to target practice.” Clint sneered, not at Wanda though.  
“Where the hell have you been?” Wanda turned her eyes from Clint to Steve and immediately straightened up.  
“With my brother.”  
“Who’s meant to be six feet under.” Clint mumbled, earning a glare from Pietro and a sorry look from Wanda.  
“We-” Wanda tried but she was interrupted.  
“Guys, we- what the hell?” And in walked Natasha. Now, if Nat were anyone other than herself, Clint would expect the whole ‘what’s going on?’ and ‘why are they here?’ type of shtick. But instead, her question was curt.  
“How’d you get him back alive?” Wanda must have seen the thought process Nat just went through because there was no shock on her face.  
“Helen Cho.” Clint turned to give Cap a look who had done the same thing to him. They had a feeling about what was coming.  
“I asked her to fix the wounds in Pietro’s body. When she did that, I took him back to Sokovia where I brought him back to life.”  
“So your ESPN stuff can bring people back from the dead?”  
“It’s not easy at all. I almost died in the process. But there were remnants of the sceptre still in the lab where we were experimented on. I then asked the Vision for help.”  
“So you brought him back to life. Do you know how dangerous that is?” Steve asked, he was visibly more on edge than he had been just before.  
“I had to. He’s my brother and I just couldn’t leave him to his death.” Cap clenched his jaw and was about to say something before Clint interrupted.  
“So what about you, road runner, do you feel any different?”  
 _Thank you_ , Wanda said inside Clint’s mind. It wasn’t like the mind control that he had been through when that son-of-a-bitch Loki got in his head. But it wasn’t a welcomed sensation either.  
“I don’t feel any different,” Pietro answered, standing a little taller. Defensive. Clint then turned to Cap.  
“Well, looks like we've got another Avenger.” He said with a weak smile. Steve rolled his eyes while Natasha flashed him a smirk.

The last thing Pietro remembered was the archer. Sure there were other things like the sudden fading of his strength, the cold that that started in his fingers and the agony from each bullet hole. But he remembered the look on Clint’s face most because of how wrong it looked. Pietro wasn’t used to seeing so much shock and horror on someone’s face. He wanted to smack the look off of Clint’s face if his strength had allowed it. But it didn’t.  
So he settled for the line he’d used when they’d first met. The line Clint had used on him with that dumb smirk of his own. And then all Pietro knew was darkness.  
Death wasn’t what he had thought it would be. It was nothingness. Like falling asleep and not dreaming. One moment he was looking a Clint and the next he felt heavy. There were dull lights on the other side of his eyelids. There was a ringing in his ears and a weight on his limbs.  
 _Pietro?_ The sound of his sister’s voice drifted into his head. He could feel the worry and anticipation. He would have answered if his body was his own. So he focused on just opening his eyes.  
It frustrated Pietro to no end. He could do this, he was stronger than this. Hell, he’d spent years being experimented on. Opening his eyes should have been a breeze. For the speedster, it felt like a lifetime before his eyes even opened a sliver. The lights were dull and everything was hazy.  
But there was no way he could mistake the red of his sister’s power that danced around his head. Everything became clearer and Pietro heard Wanda gasp.  
“Pietro,” she whispered, standing over him. Feeling was coming back to Pietro faster than his strength and he could feel her hands on his face.  
“Hi,” he said in a voice that didn’t sound like his own. Pietro would always remember the smile that Wanda had, stretching her lips widely and crinkling her eyes.  
The following day, Pietro was able to sit up by himself but he needed assistance to stand.  
“Quit grumbling,” Wanda sighed, holding her brother up with his arm over her shoulders. But how could he not complain? Every fibre in his being was telling him to move faster, go, go, go. But his body hadn’t caught up with his mind. They were back in Sokovia and in one of the buildings that had survived. Only a few people had returned but Stark’s clean-up crew had fixed a large part of the city. Wanda hadn’t allowed Pietro outside yet. As if he could go outside by himself.  
“When your strength has returned, you can run wherever you like. I promise.”  
“I know, I’m sorry.” Pietro said quietly, taking another shaky step. Thankfully his enhanced metabolism mean that healing didn’t take as long as it would a normal person. That was a small mercy.  
After the third day, Pietro could walk on his own and had worked up to run but nowhere near as fast as he should have been.  
That night, Pietro sat out on the balcony, watching the stars. He heard his sister walk out but didn’t bother to look at her. He did when she put a blanket over his shoulders.  
“Thank you,” he said to which his sister smiled. “So what are we going to do now?”  
“You mean when you’re better?” Pietro rolled his eyes at that. “Go back to the Avengers? I’ve been training with them.” She said in defence. “I have a place there and you can too.”  
“Maybe.” He mumbled. It wasn’t that it was a bad idea. It was probably the best option they had. So he nodded.  
“But we get to go sightseeing first, yeah?” Wanda laughed and kissed her brother on his cheek.  
“Sure, it’ll be fun.” With gentle fingers, she tucked some of Pietro’s unruly hair behind his ear affectionately. He could both feel and see the misery she felt at the memory of losing him. Wanda had always let Pietro know what she was feeling and the habit had never gone away. So he wrapped and arm around her, tucking Wanda under the blanket.  
“I won’t go anywhere without you. I promise.” He said, pressing a kiss into her hair. “It’s always going to be you and me. Nothing will change that.”

“Well,” Nat said when no one else said anything. “I’m glad to have you back.”  
“Thank you,” the speedster answered with a genuine grin.  
“Of course we are,” added Steve. The smile he gave wasn’t as genuine but still there. Clint just couldn’t figure out what had Cap so on edge.  
“Well I’m still deciding,” he commented. Nat glared at him before speaking.  
“Now that that’s all sorted, can I say what I came here to say?” Nat asked.  
“What?”  
“Well, Cap, I just got a call from Rhodey. We’re needed in New York.”  
“Do you think Stark’s up for that?”  
“What’ wrong with Stark?” Wanda asked, taking a step forward. Clint was the one who answered her.  
“Stark and Pepper split up. Tony’s going through a heartbreak right now.”  
“Oh.”  
“I wouldn’t let it worry you though,” Clint shrugged with a half-hearted, lopsided smile. “He’ll drink himself asleep. Deal with a hangover. Work for several hours without sleeping or eating and will be as good as new when we get there.”  
“Yeah, like alcoholism and malnutrition isn’t something to worry about,” Steve deadpanned. Clint shrugged again.  
“Or we give him an intervention. An ‘appreciate Tony Stark’ kind of thing.” Steve just gave the archer such an unimpressed look that Pietro sniggered. He had to duck behind his sister to dodge the arrow Clint had been holding on to for far too long.  
“We leave in five,” Cap ordered, turning to leave.  
“Are we allowed to go?” Cap turned back to Wanda. Ready to refuse.  
“Well I don’t know about you,” Natasha began. “But I’d rather have more allies than less if it comes to a fight.”  
“I’m with her,” agreed Clint. Steve looked between the four of them before nodding.  
“Five minutes.” And then Steve was out of the training room. A second later, Pietro picked up Wanda and rushed straight past Clint; nearly knocking him over.  
“You know something,” Clint grumbled to his best friend as they followed after their teammates. “I’m going to put an arrow right in the back of his head.”  
Nat chuckled and put an arm around Clint.  
“Yeah, Sam and I are have a bet on whether you’d do that or just punch him straight out.”  
“Which one did you chose?”  
“The shot, obviously.”  
“Well I’d take your money from Sam if I were you. There’s no way I’m wasting these babies on a punk like him.” Clint said, putting his hands out in front him to admire them. Nat just rolled her eyes.  
“Just make sure Wanda is nowhere near you when it happens.”  
“Yes ma’am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a lot of talking in this one. But also a lot of staring too.  
> But things do move on in the next chapter so yay for that :D  
> Thank you again for your amazing support. 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint's reaction to a certain Sokovian's return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus, guys!  
> I never expected such a response! But I'm grateful all of the same.  
> Also, I really never meant to update this each day but I've just gotten too excited and I'm writing it faster than expected.  
> Whoopsies.  
> I won't keep you any longer. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

 

Clint had given his gear to Cap for the duration of the flight on the Quinjet lest he shoot Pietro in the small, confined space. Wanda had spent the first few minutes of the flight apologizing to the archer. Clint assured her that what she did was understandable… as long as she understood why Clint wanted to shoot her brother. She did.  
After that she gave her brother a lecture in Sokovian about not annoying Clint. He was grateful that he had taken those lessons from Wanda on her language. Now he knew whenever the speedy brat said something insulting.  
Part way through, things were pretty much quiet. Steve was at the wheel of the jet though it didn’t necessarily need a driver. Clint reckoned that the super soldier just needed a distraction. The twins sat beside each other on the other side of the Quinjet from Clint who was going over just what was needed to be done back in Laura’s dining room.  
“Hey,” Nat said, coming over to sit next to him. She had just been over with Cap for a moment.  
“Hey yourself. What’s up?” Nat sighed before she continued.  
“I’m worried about Stark. He and Pepper were so happy. I just can’t think why they’d split.”  
“Those two were as happy as any couple. Their problems were their own. Both of them are business enough not to get others involved. But you’re right, I don’t know what could have split them.”  
Nat nodded along to Clint’s words, brash as they were.  
“I guess love isn’t that simple.” Clint scoffed and leaned back against the cold wall.  
“When has it ever been? And what about you?”  
“What about me?”  
“What about you and your love troubles?” Natasha hesitated for a second and Clint knew why. Clint chanced a glance over at the twins. Wanda was sleeping with her head on her brother’s shoulder. Pietro was looking at anything other than the two assassins. Clint leaned forward so Natasha didn’t have to speak so loud.  
“I don’t know where he is, Clint. I understand why he left but a part of me keeps guessing. He didn’t turn the bird around.”  
Clint had heard Natasha say that before. She said it when she drunk with Clint during a couple quiet nights. He’d heard her say it when she was by herself. Bruce didn’t turn the bird around.  
“That guy has always been good at disappearing.” Nat bit her lip, not entirely happy with that fact. “But remember who found him last time? Who went and got him? Who was that?”  
“Me,” she answered quietly.  
“Exactly. Now this world isn’t all that big and Banner would probably go to some place obscure and settle down there. You know he gets skittish when he travels. We just gotta start looking and not stop till we find him. Simple as that.”  
“When you put it that way Clint, you make it sound like a fifth grader could do it.”  
“Have you seen how smart some of those fifth graders are?” That earned Clint a laugh and a smile from the red headed assassin. “We’re gonna find him, and when we do, you can give that nerd an overdue ass-kicking.”  
“Sure thing, boss.” Clint chuckled at that. But he was happy to be able to help her. If only in words. When they found the MIA scientist, Clint was going to stand back and video Nat giving Bruce what was coming to him.  
What neither of the assassins noticed was that, on the other side of the Quinjet, Pietro had been watching their conversation out of the corner of his eye.  
_They’re sitting too close,_ he thought. They also didn’t notice how his knuckles had turned white from clenching them so much. God, what was wrong with him? Pietro couldn’t understand why, but the archer bothered him. And he refused to even think about why that was.

They landed in New York at the Avengers building about ten minutes later. Nat was the first off with Clint a few steps behind. Wanda walked alongside the archer, keeping an eye on him since her brother was bound to be a pain. Said pain was a few steps behind them. Steve took a moment to himself before he got off.  
Maria Hill was there to greet them. She wore a tight pencil skirt, a white buttoned shirt and black heels. She looked every part the secretary.  
“What’s going on?” Natasha asked, letting Maria guide them inside to the elevator.  
“Stark’s still pretty bad. Colonel Rhodes thought it would be good for you to talk to him.”  
“Like an intervention?” Clint asked. Maria didn’t understand why the others groaned and rolled their eyes.  
Inside, the place had been cleaned up quite nicely since the whole Ultron thing. There wasn’t a piece of glass out of place. The six of them are greeted with the sight of Tony lying on the farthest couch and Rhodey standing up. Tony was wearing an old t-shirt and jeans, very unlike his usual sharp attire.  
“Oh good,” Rhodey said. “You’re here.” The others walked over at the same time as Tony sat up.  
“Ah, what is this?” He asked, dark shadows circled his eyes.  
“An intervention,” Clint announced quickly as he tok a seat on the couch to Tony’s right. Cap sat down opposite Clint with Maria beside him. Wanda got the seat next to Clint before Natasha who ended up next to Maria while Pietro stood with Rhodey.

As everyone else sat down, Pietro decided to stand. It just felt more comfortable. Then they all started talking about feelings and how they understood why Tony was upset. About what they could do to help. How boring.  
Pietro didn’t really care about Tony’s heartbreak because he had no idea how to deal with something like that. And also because Clint was wearing that vest that showed off his arms. How was that not more important? He watched as Clint leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees and by god that was completely unfair. The muscles in his arms tightened and became more defined. Pietro felt his mouth go a little dry at the sight. The speedster could swear that everyone else would be able to hear is racing heartbeat.  
Once again, Pietro refused to acknowledge why he reacted to Clint’s arms like that. It wasn’t like he was attractive. No way! He was an old man. Pietro really could do better. But it was a question of if he wanted to.

“Well, just look at it this way buddy, it wasn’t like she just dumped you out of nowhere.” Clint offered, not entirely sure how to console Stark.  
“How have you been coping?” Steve asked in a soft voice. Where the hell was the edginess from before? Clint had a sneaking suspicion as to why that was. Tony let out a heavy sigh before answering.  
“Just the usual, drank myself to sleep the first night. Then worked on some projects until I keeled over and then Colonel Health and Safety over there came and mother henned me to health.”  
“You hadn’t eaten in twenty three hours.”  
“And now I’m better. Promise.” Tony tacked on the last part at the look Steve gave him.  
“If you say so,” he replied.  
Then Natasha started asking Tony about his new projects to keep Tony talking and a bit distracted from his heartbreak. While the others engaged in the conversation, Steve noticed how still Pietro was. Usually the kid was moving to some degree. But this time he was still.  
Before Cap could say anything, he noticed just where Pietro’s strange gaze was directed. Straight at Barton. He looked between the two of them and it became quite clear that Barton had no idea that the older Maximoff was staring at him so intensely. Steve almost fell off his seat when he was how Pietro licked his bottom lip while still staring at the archer. How was no one else noticing that? The kid was straight out staring!  
“So Barton,” Rhodey said when the conversation had died a bit. “How’s the family?” This then lead Clint onto talking about his sister and her kids. Steve looked about his comrades and saw a stunned expression on Tony’s face. When he caught his eye, Steve mouthed ‘what’. Tony then looked at Pietro, to Clint, back to Pietro and then to Steve.  
So he saw it too.  
“Stark,” Maria said once Clint had finished. “Didn’t you say that there was something you needed to tell the others?”  
It took a second for Tony to remember. But when he did, his eyes lit up.  
“Right, thanks Hill.”  
“What’s going on?” Natasha asked, looking between the two of them. Tony waited a moment before answering because the bastard liked building suspense. But Wanda didn’t know that.  
“You’ve found him,” she said.  
“Found who?” asked Clint, looking from Wanda to Tony. Stark pushed down the annoyance at the ruined suspense.  
“I think I’ve found Banner.” The silence that followed made it possible to hear a pin drop. Clint instantly looked to Nat whose eyes went comically wide while the rest of her face turned to stone.  
“Are you serious?” Questioned Steve when no one said anything.  
“Well yeah. That’s what I’ve been doing with my time. Obviously.”  
“Alright,” Steve suddenly went into Captain mode. “Widow, Hawkeye, Maximoffs, go get ready. I don’t want to get wherever Banner is and be ambushed. Better safe than sorry. Stark, show me where we’re going.”  
“Right, come with me.” So Clint set off with the twins and Nat back to the elevator while Cap followed Tony to his workshop.  
“Friday, can you pull up the map with Dr Banner’s possible location, please.”  
“Certainly, boss.” The female voice said.  
“It’s still a little strange that it’s not Jarvis.” Steve commented as the holographic map came up.  
“Yeah, you and me both. Now see here,” Tony pointed at the location point on the map.  
“Australia?”  
“Aha, Albany to be precise. Close enough to the coast to run into the sea.”  
“But it’s a city.”  
“Yeah, that’s why I said possible location.”  
“You think he might not be there?”  
“Maybe, maybe not. Australia isn’t exactly off the radar. They’d know Banner if they saw him.”  
“So why did you think it was him in the first place?”  
“Well,” Tony began, sitting down on the wheelie chair. “I looked for his gamma-radiation signature and that’s where it was.” Steve nodded in understanding.  
“Makes sense.”  
“Say, about that Maximoff kid, I thought he was meant to be dead.”  
“His sister brought him back to life with the help of the Vision. Barton wasn’t too happy to see him.”  
“You’d think he would be after the kid had saved his life.”  
“He did have to go months thinking that the kid was dead and feeling guilty.”  
“That’s true,” Tony huffed. “Did you see him staring at Barton earlier?”  
“It was hard not to. Pietro wasn’t moving. That’s why I noticed.”  
“What the half dazed gaze he had on Barton that didn’t waver didn't make you notice?”  
“I was busy focusing on the conversation.” Steve sighed and ran a hand over his face.  
“Everything ok?” Tony asked.  
“Yeah, I’m just worried that this new development doesn’t blow up in our faces. Barton’s already threatened to shoot the kid and I’m pretty sure Nat and Sam are into the betting stage.”  
“I’d like to get in on that.” Tony said with a grin. “What’s it for?”  
“Whether Barton will shoot the kid or punch him in the face.” The two then headed out of the workshop in order to get ready.  
“That’s boring. I have a better idea for a bet.”  
“And what would that be, Stark?”  
“Whether or not Clint will kill the kid or kiss him.”  
Even Steve had to admit that that was a tempting idea for a bet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT??!?!!  
> No?  
> Well ok then... :P  
> It will get there soon but there's got to be some tension.  
> And Clint just wants to shoot Pietro so I don't think he has time for love.  
> For now.  
> Seriously guys, thank you for your amazing response. It really is fantastic!
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They head off in search of Banner but they find more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAY I DIRECT YOU TO THIS GIF?!?!  
> https://31.media.tumblr.com/97f0f5247790f4fe3d5ece252fbc646e/tumblr_nmlsk8J7ne1tt6g9yo1_500.gif  
> This is precisely why I'm writing Pietro being obsessed with Clint's arms because Oh.My.Lord.  
> That.Is.Why.   
> Now back to the story. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

Clint was busy getting the arrow heads he’d need. So he didn’t notice when Pietro had come over. The Sokovian leaned against the doorframe with a smirk as his eyes trailed over Clint’s arms once again. He watched as Clint selected each piece to then put them in the box on his right.   
“What are you doing?” He asked, though it didn’t startle the archer like he had hoped.   
“Getting ready,” Clint replied without taking his eyes away from the arrows.   
“How many are there?”   
“Over four hundred.”   
“How many arrows do you carry?”   
“About one hundred.”   
“What if you run out?”   
“I don’t.”   
“Yeah but what if you do?”   
“Then I pull them out of whatever I shot or use my gun.”   
“Have you ever run out?”   
“Once.” Pietro waited for Clint to elaborate but the archer didn’t feel like talking about that particular fight. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Clint finally looked at Pietro.   
“I am,” he smirked, gesturing to his tight running shirt that clung to his body. All the more to show off.   
“What about your sister?”   
“She’s changing clothes. I’m not about to help her with that.”   
Clint huffed and went back to sorting his arrows. Pietro watched him for a moment longer. Watched the way his hands would hover over the arrowheads before selecting one. Pietro imagined what it would feel like to have those hands on his own skin. He shook it off.   
“So,” he tried, ignoring the temptation in front of him. “Are you happy to see me?”   
“What do you mean?”   
“I mean are you happy that I’m alive?” Clint paused. The clench in his jaw worried Pietro.   
“You mean am I happy that you’re alive after I’ve had to remember you dying right in front of me for months and feeling guilty and shit for it all to be for nothing? Not really?”   
That twisted something in Pietro’s chest. But he was young enough to brush it off and used humour instead. He didn’t really feel like fighting with Clint. He pushed off from the wall and stepped closer to the archer. He was a little bit taller than the archer and that did something to him that he would never admit to.   
“Well, it’s not like anyone would expect an old man to protect himself. You needed me.” Clint barked a laugh when he looked up at Pietro. The Sokovian caught the flash of surprise in Clint’s eyes before he schooled it.   
“You could cut off my legs and I’d still be able to fight. I’d just get Tony to make me a flying chair like Yoda’s.” Clint picked up the box of his gear and stepped round the speedster to leave.   
“Who’s Yoda?” Pietro asked, following after Clint. The archer turned back to stare at the kid incredulously.   
“Seriously? You haven’t seen Star Wars?” Pietro shook his head and Clint turned back round.   
“Perhaps you could show me,” the Sokovian offered, dropping his voice slightly. Clint was very tempted to say something snarky at that. The kid was getting on his nerves but he’d helped raise his nephew. This kid was nothing. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to bite something back at him. Thankfully Wanda came over just in time.   
“There you two are,” she said, looking nervously between them. “Come on, we’re leaving in less than a minute.” Clint readied himself for Pietro when the kid would undoubtedly run past him. Wanda too. But nothing happened. Clint turned to look at the punk who just shrugged in response.   
“What?” He asked smugly. He then sauntered past Clint. “C’mon old man, they won’t wait forever.”   
If Clint had grumbled several nasty comments about the smug bastard, well at least Cap wasn’t there to hear.

The ride on the Quinjet was long and Clint slept for most of it. That meant that it was a field day for a certain Sokovian. He got to stare at the archer’s face when it was all relaxed in sleep. There may or may not have been a few comparisons to puppies.  
Steve and Tony did their best not to say anything. Primarily because Nat had made Tony drive in case he felt the need to say something snarky.   
When they got to Australia, Pietro was the first to complain about the heat. Steve, kindly, told him to get over it because he too was having trouble with the heat but he didn’t want to admit it.   
“Alright Stark,” Clint called after clambering out of the Quinjet. “Where’s our doctor?”   
“Well the signature says he’s somewhere along the coast.” Tony answered, eyes glued to his tablet. “We’ll need to get closer to have a proper possible position. It’s within walking distance.”   
“Let’s go, then.” Steve said and started walking. Clint stuck beside Nat. He knew that she wasn’t confident about the possibility of Banner being there. But she couldn’t shake off the hope.   
Tony’s calculations lead them to an apartment building along the cost. Cap sent Pietro in to check the floors as quickly as possible. But when he came back, he shook his head.   
“I’m sorry,” he said to Natasha. “But there was no trace of his there. They’re all just civilians.”   
And that’s what Clint had been dreading, the disappointment on Nat’s face made it even worse. Suddenly, Clint grabbed Natasha by the shoulders, not caring that the others were watching.   
“Ok you listen to me, Nat.” Clint ordered, forcing Natasha to look him in the eyes. “We’re gonna find Banner. I told you. There was a small possibility that we’d find him on the first try. But that doesn’t mean we’re gonna stop. We keep looking till we find him whether the Doctor wants to be found or not. Understand?”   
For a moment, Natasha just stared at Clint like she couldn’t believe he was there. After a few short, quiet breaths, Nat nodded.   
“Ah, I’d hate to break up this touching scene,” Tony said. “But we have in coming.”   
“What?” Steve asked, sounding as shocked as the others felt.   
“There’s a lot of them, coming in fast.” On the screen in Tony’s hands, over a hundred red dots were moving quickly towards their location from the harbour.   
“They’re under the water,” Wanda said with her hands pointed at the sea.   
“This is going to turn into a fight.” Steve growled, pulling his shield from his back. “Pietro, go clear as many citizens as you can. Stark, alert the authorities.” Steve commanded. Pietro dashed off and Tony had signalled for his suit which came a moment later.   
“Done,” he said just before the mask came. Steve turned to the others.   
“Get ready you guys.” Steve didn’t have to say it twice. Clint already had an arrow aimed and ready, Natasha had her batons that lit up blue and Wanda had her red magic dancing around her hands. And then the noise came, water breaking and metal creaking.   
“More robots?” Clint asked, already trying to supress the memories of Sokovia. Pietro raced back just in time for the first metal hand to grip the edge.   
“Looks like it,” Natasha murmured and Clint shot said robot in the face. But when that one fell, two more took its place. Then four. Then twelve. Then twenty. Then until there were over a hundred robots clambering up.   
All hell broke loose.   
The robots they were fighting looked very much like Ultron’s but nowhere near as menacing. These robots were slower but they were able to fire lasers. And fly. Ironman lifted Clint on the rooftop to shoot the ones that got past Cap, Widow and Wanda. Tony took care of most of the ones in the sky while Pietro went after everything else while still removing the citizens.   
But that still wasn’t enough and soon the robots had broken past. Thankfully the local authorities showed up with guns.   
“Hawkeye,” Cap said over the comms. He sounded out of breath after ten minutes of endless fighting. “We need you on the ground.”   
“On my way,” Clint said, putting the arrow in his hand back into the quiver. He sighed at the thought of running down or those stairs. But when Clint turned around, he was faced with a grimy but smiling Pietro. “No.”   
“I didn’t even say anything.”   
“And you didn’t have to. I’ll get down by myself.” Clint said, stalking past the speedster. Pietro just rolled his eyes before turning to the archer.   
“We don’t have time for that,” he said, before picking Clint up in his arms and dashing down the stairs. When Pietro put Clint down once outside the building, Clint almost keeled over.   
“I said,” he huffed with a dizzy head. “That I’d get down myself.”   
Pietro just shrugged with that dumb smirk of his and raced off. Clint was too busy getting his head under control that he didn’t see Pietro as he ripped apart the few robots that had started towards the archer. Shaking it off, Clint drew another arrow and headed towards where he saw Wanda who had her work cut out for her. She was taking down robot after robot but even Clint could see that she was tiring out.   
One of the robots managed to miss Wanda’s previous attacks and was a few metres from her. It fell with a sputter when one of Clint’s arrows found its way into its head.   
“You ok?” Wanda asked once Clint had gotten to her side.   
“Yeah, but your brother’s a dick.” Three robots down.   
“What did he do?”   
“He picked me up and ran with me.” Two more. Wanda gave him such a startled look that Clint didn’t even bother to hide his laugh.   
“I’m going to hit him,” Wanda said as she threw one robot at another.   
“Aside from the usual reasons,” Clint grunted. Four more down. “Why?”   
“I told him not to do that with others. It makes them sick.”   
“And you don’t get sick?”   
“I’ve done it plenty of times. Now isn’t the best time for you to get sick.   
“I with you on that.”   
“Hawkeye,” Steve said once again over the comms.   
“Yeah, Cap.”   
“I need you over to the south. A couple of them have gotten down that way.”   
“On it.” Clint wasn’t half as surprised as he should have been at the sight of Pietro suddenly there in a flash of blue. Clint couldn’t even open his mouth before the speedster picked him up and ran off.   
“Pietro!” Wanda called after them as she was left behind.   
But as they were running, Pietro suddenly stopped and tumbled over. Clint was thrown several metres away but he’d managed to roll back onto his feet.   
“What the f-” But then he stopped at the sight of Pietro, curling in on himself with his hand pressed tightly to his stomach. Clint could see the blood seeping through.   
“Pietro’s hit.” Clint announced over the comms as he dashed over.   
“Is he ok?” Wanda asked a second after.   
“Yeah but I won’t be getting down to the south.”   
“I’ve got it,” Ironman said.   
“Take care of Pietro.” Cap ordered. Clint didn’t need to be told twice. He dragged Pietro inside a building that had been emptied. He sat the kid up against the wall and gently moved his hand away. Clint shook of the memory of Pietro with more bulled holes and a lost, sad look in his eyes.   
“You’re not dying on me again.” Clint murmured without thinking. The archer was so busy with getting out the med-gear from one of his pockets that he did see the way Pietro’s eyes widened at his words. Nor did he notice how Pietro watched everything that he did with careful and dilated eyes.   
“So fucking reckless.” Clint grumbled. “Can’t even take care of yourself. And you say I’m the one who-”   
Clint was cut off by Pietro’s lips pressed firmly against his. Where Clint’s were a little chapped, Pietro’s were soft and the stubble around his mouth scratched slightly. And as quick as it had happened, it ended. And everything in Clint’s head stopped. All there was, was Pietro’s striking blue eyes just watching Clint carefully, flicking between the archer’s eyes and mouth. And then he leaned back in-   
“Hawkeye.” Nat called over the comms. Clint flinched back and snapped out of whatever the hell that was.   
“Ah, yeah- what?” Clint stammered. He couldn’t look at the Sokovian who was staring at him with hurt in his eyes.   
“Is everything ok?”   
“Ah yeah.”   
“We need you down on the sea front.”   
“Sure, be there soon.” Clint gave Pietro’s wound one quick look before he nodded, deciding that the kid would be fine. Then he ran off in search of the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeh.
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they all get back to Stark/Avengers tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys you went awol over the last chapter :D   
> It was so much fun to read your reactions. Now I'm kind of afraid as to how you'll react to this one...   
> And let me just say that I'm not giving the chapters titles because in my other stories I did that and I fucking suck at titles :/   
> Eh oh well, we're all good at some things.  
> Anyways, on with the story!
> 
> Enjoy :)

The battle ended soon after that. And if anyone noticed how stiff and quiet Clint was, well then they didn’t bother pointing it out. Probably because none of them fancied an arrow to the butt. Pietro too had become quiet but his was for other reasons.   
If anyone had asked Pietro why he had kissed Clint. Well he knew now. In that moment, with the grumpy old archer fussing over him, Pietro’s heart was going a hundred miles an hour and his entire world just zeroed down to Clint and himself. As for the kiss, it was possibly for two reasons. Firstly, because Clint was grumbling and Pietro just wanted him to shut up. Or… he was in love. He’d ripped a robot savagely apart at that thought.   
The ride on the Quinjet was worse because _everyone_ noticed Pietro’s staring and Clint’s staring at anything other than anyone. Something definitely happened between them, the others thought. And how right they were.   
When the jet landed, Pietro stormed off of it before disappearing in a flash of blue and white. Clint acted like he didn’t see and Wanda just rolled her eyes before heading after her brother.  
When they all got to the lounge, there was someone waiting for them.   
“Well I‘ll be,” Steve said with a smile.   
“Hey to you too,” Sam said, shaking Steve’s offered hand.   
“Ah, how’d you get in here?” Tony asked, full of sarcasm as usual.   
“Through the front door,” countered Sam. Tony let him have that. “And if it isn’t my bird brother.”   
“Really?” Clint asked in mock embarrassment but he hugged Sam anyway.   
“You guys look terrible.”   
“You’re no Spring peach either.” Nat said as she came over to give Sam a kiss on the cheek. All of the guys noticed Sam’s bashful smile.   
“Where have you all been?”   
“Australia.” Cap answers. “We got ambushed by some robots.”   
“Not like what happened in that floating city? The ones Stark made?”   
“Ah, actually that was an alien AI that did that.” Tony announced in defense, fixing himself a drink.   
“Oh like that time you died Nat’s hair and it wasn’t your fault?” Clint asked as the others took seats.   
“I told you that Widow would suit blonde.”   
“She did not!”   
“Just because you don’t have a thing for blondes, Barton.” Clint rolled his eyes before rolling his shoulder.   
“Well as fun as this is, guys. I’ve gotta go stretch this shoulder. I’ll be in the training area if you need me.” And with that, Clint headed to the elevator and left the others to it.   
“So what’s going on?” Sam asked politely. “Has anything happened with the bet?” Before Natasha could answer, Stark cut in.   
“I’ve decided to change it.”   
“You weren’t even a part of it.” Nat argued.   
“When I tell you what the new bet is, you’ll forget all about yours and tweety bird’s bet”   
“Oh now this I gotta hear,” Sam stated, shifting to the edge of his seat. He didn’t miss the smirk Steve had. To add showmanship to his reveal, Tony stood up and raised his chin higher than normal.   
“Instead of your silly little ‘shoot or punch’ bet. The bet I have in mind is-” Tony paused for dramatic effect which just had the others rolling their eyes. “Whether or not Barton will kill or kiss Pietro.” And that certainly got Nat and Sam’s attention.   
“Oh he’s going to kill him,” Sam said quickly.   
“Don’t be so sure,” Steve replied with a knowing smile.   
“What is it you know that I don’t?”   
“When we got here, after being upstate, Quicksilver couldn’t keep his eyes off of Clint.”   
“Aaaand?” Tony urged while trying to look innocent. Cap sighed.   
“And I saw the kid licking his lip at him.” There was a moment of stunned silence. Nat kind of guessed that something was up but she wouldn’t have guessed that.   
“Well damn, that is better.”   
“I’m betting that Barton kisses the kid. All of that pent up sexual tension and whatnot.” Informed Tony. “And the kid’s not bad looking either. Everyone likes a guy with an accent.”   
“I’ll put money on that.” Stark smiled triumphantly at Sam.   
“Sorry but I’m going to have to go with Clint killing, or at least hurting him.” Nat said with some degree of confidence.   
“I’m with Widow.”   
“Of course you are,” Tony grumbled with a mock glare at Steve. “Now that that’s settled, let’s talk mullah.”

“Pietro, wait!” Wanda called as she ran after her brother. He had already dashed off to his room and Wanda was just down the hall from his door. “Open up!” She demanded, once at his door after, knocking. If it were anyone else, then Pietro would’ve ignored them. But Wanda was special. He opened the door and couldn’t bring himself to look his sister in the eyes.   
“What happened?” She asked as she stepped inside. Pietro headed to his bed once he shut the door and he fell onto his front with his face buried in his arms. “Did something happen with Clint?”   
The groan Pietro answered Wanda with was enough to answer that question.   
“What happened?” When her brother didn’t answer, Wanda sighed and flopped down next to him. She stared at the metal ceiling whilst she waited for Pietro to reply. When he did, it was a muffled sort of groan.   
“What?” She asked, sitting up and turning to face him.   
“I ki…”   
“I did not make out the last part. Actually speak to me.” Pietro sighed and lifted himself up onto his elbows. With a terrified look, he confessed.   
“I kissed Clint.” Wanda stared at her brother with wide eyes for a moment.   
“Clint? Our Clint? When? Wh-where?”   
“Earlier, when I was shot and he was taking care of me. I did not think. I just-”   
“Why would you do that?” Wanda could feel the fear and confusion her brother felt at that question.   
“Wanda,” he said quietly without looking at her. “I think I might be in love with Agent Barton.” Wanda was shocked, obviously by what he’d just said but also the title he’d used for Clint. He never was serious enough to use people’s titles or codenames.   
“Pietro, why would you think this?”   
“Because I can’t stop thinking about that old man and his stupid face and his damn arms.”   
“What do his arms have to do with- never mind. I don’t want to know.” Pietro groaned and buried his head in his arms once more.   
“I don’t know what to do!” He complained.   
“Well maybe it’s not love. Maybe since you came back you’ve felt a little strange towards him since Clint was the last person you saw before-” Despite having her brother back, Wanda still felt the pain of her brother dying, like having her heart ripped out.”   
“No,” Pietro sighed, looking over at his sister. “It was there before but I was too stubborn to notice or care about it. From the moment I saw him, he’s been right here.” Pietro said, pointing to his head. “Just sitting there quietly to come to my attention when everything is quiet and calm.”   
“Oh, brother,” Wanda said with a fond smile as she rubbed his arm in an affectionate manner. “You must talk to him.”   
“What? And have him ridicule me? No bloody way.”   
“If you don’t tell him then he won’t know.”   
“Trust me, I haven’t been that subtle. I don’t do inconspicuous.”   
“I’ll admit that Clint takes a while longer than others to notice what is truly there. Unless it is a target, he won’t get it without someone telling him.” Pietro looked at his sister for a moment. “Go find him and tell him,” she said. And so he did.

“What do you want kid? I’m a little busy at the moment.” Pietro fidgeted for a moment as he worked out his words.   
“About earlier. About that kiss-”   
“Yeah, I understand.” Clint said easily enough, firing another arrow which undoubtedly hit the mark.   
“You do?”   
“Sure, you’re young and getting shot would’ve scared you. Especially because of what happened last time you were shot.”   
“What does my age have to do with anything?”   
“Well you know,” Clint shrugged, finally turning to look at the speedster. “All of them hormones running about inside of you. Messing with your head. There’s no way you would’ve died but people do dumb things when they panic.”   
“You thought it was dumb?”   
“Well no. Not dumb. But it’s not something you should get upset about or-” Clint couldn’t finish his point, whatever the hell it was, because Pietro had grown tired of listening. That and the fact that Clint, once again, had his arms bare. This all added up to Pietro suddenly grabbing Clint one tenth of a second and having him pressed against the wall a tenth of a second later. Pietro held Clint’s wrists above his head in a surprisingly tight grip. The Sokovian’s body was a mere centimetre away from the archers and his face about two centimetres away. But his blue eyes remained fixed on Clint’s with striking clarity.   
The archer froze, holding himself back from kneeing the kid and ramming his head against the wall like his fighting instincts told him to. Instead he stood there, letting Pietro stare at him as his breathing came out in quick, warm bursts across Clint’s skin.   
And then Pietro was leaning in, tilting his head so he could press his lips firmly against the archer’s. He held himself for a few seconds before pulling back to see Clint raising one eyebrow at him.   
“What?” Pietro snapped, thinking that Clint was looking down on him. He’d never admit the fear that raced through him at the idea of Clint rejecting him. He wouldn’t be able to bare it.   
“Is that the only way you know how to kiss?”   
“I was in experimentation since I was ten. Why would I know how to kiss?” Clint rolled his eyes and sighed.   
“You damn moron.”   
“Well teach me.” Pietro demanded, pressing himself up against Clint.   
First things first, Clint knew this was bad. Really, really, unbelievably, Laura-would-probably-smack-him-for-this bad. Secondly, Clint thought that Pietro had only kissed him in the first place was because he was afraid of dying and Clint knew people who had gone so far as to fuck someone because they were so scared. Now Clint just thought that the kid didn’t want to be made a fool of by the archer.   
But the archer was man enough to know that it had been months since he’d so much as kissed someone and now twice in one day. And he’d agree but never admit that the kid was good looking, like really good looking. Oh god he was old enough to be Pietro’s uncle or something. But the temptation was still there and Clint benignly thought: _how bad could this be? He probably just wants to learn._   
“Fine,” Clint sighed and Pietro had to take a moment to get over his shock.   
“What?”   
“Do you want to learn or not?” The speedster’s mind was so surprised that all he managed was a brisk nod.   
“Alright, tilt your head a little further to the right and part your lips slightly. Not that much.” Pietro did so and he was nervous as hell. When Clint leaned in he couldn’t help but flinch. “I’m not going to bite you.” Clint grumbled. Those words stirred something in Pietro’s gut that had a shiver running down his spine. The archer leaned in once more and Pietro let his eyes slip closed.   
When Clint pressed the speedster’s top lip between his own, the speedster was doing back-flips in his head.   
Hesitantly, Pietro pressed his bottom lip up against Clint’s. He heard and felt the older man huff. But then Clint’s mouth was opening again so Pietro did the same. And when Clint pulled at more of his top lip with his own, well Pietro got the idea. Soon he was opening his mouth against Clint’s on his time and tilting his head further to the right to be able to kiss deeper. Pietro knew that this was what kissing really was. Like how people did it in the movies and he couldn’t help the breathy moan he made at the idea of it.   
Just as the thought of brushing his tongue against the archer’s came into his mind, Pietro lost his hold on Clint’s wrists as he slipped them down and pushed Pietro back slightly by the shoulders.   
“There, now you’ve learned. Now leave me alone to practise,” Clint said, not unkindly.   
Pietro was so fazed that he just nodded and wandered off. If he had ran then he would've undoubtedly run into something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tempted to just leave you guys here and run away...  
> Go on a nice holiday for a while ;)   
> Temptingggggg
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint babysits while the others deal with Deadpool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reason for the late update?   
> Well you guys won't know this but as a rule, I don't write on weekends so I can have a clear head and not get all blah about a story. But since you guys have been so amazing, I decided to write this chapter over the weekend. Although it's 1 am on Monday morning now. So that's a heads up. And I live in New Zealand so my Saturday might be your guys' Friday and my Monday your Sunday so keep that in mind.   
> This was such a goof of a chapter to write but I hope you'll like it all the same. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

As Tony made his way to the training area where Clint was (to perhaps sway Clint towards Tony’s side of the bet), he came across Pietro. The kid was walking round with red cheeks and a goofy kind of smile on his face. And then he noticed the kid’s glazed over expression like he wasn’t exactly there. Way too weird.   
“Maximoff?” Tony asked cautiously. At the sound of his voice, Pietro jumped and finally looked at Stark. The glazed over expression and goofy grin disappeared and gave way to a look more alike to a deer in the headlight. The blush, however, deepened.   
“What?”   
“Have you seen Barton?”  Pietro blurted something that sounded like “in there” with a flailing gesture to the other end of the hall. And then the speedster ducked his head and stormed past Stark without another word. Tony was left staring after him for a moment, slightly baffled. Then a grin that had too much wolf to be sheepish tugged at his mouth.   
“Oh Romanov will be owing me some money.” He muttered triumphantly to himself. Tony found Barton where the kid had said. Barton was shooting arrows and didn’t look fazed in the least. “Isn’t it my favourite archer,” Stark called.   
“In the flesh and in the zone. Don’t distract me unless you want a damn arrow in your arm.” Clint’s remark would have been threatening if he wasn’t grinning slightly.   
“Distracting like a sonic the hedgehog type person?”   
“You both have your irritating qualities. He just hasn’t had the years to grow out of them.”   
“I am never irritating.” Tony grumbled. But no, he wasn’t there to fight. He was there to win a bet by any means necessary. “But Pietro can be annoying. Do you ever think that someone’s so annoying that you just feel a sudden urge to, oh I dunno, kiss them just to shut them up?”   
Clint paused for a moment to think that over.   
“I’m not kissing you no matter how much you talk.”   
“What? No. You’re not my type. I’m meaning Roadrunner.”  Clint lowered his arrow to give Tony a tired and annoyed look.   
“If you wanna kiss the kid then fine. But you’re old enough to be his dad.”   
“Why would I want to kiss him?”   
“You’re the one going on about kissing annoying people to shut them up.”   
“But my point wasn’t for me to kiss him.”   
“What is your point.” It was Tony’s turn to pause as he thought over his options. Lie, which he could do very well. Or tell the truth which could mean that Barton would know and make sure to not kiss the kid ever. That was a hard decision.

Meanwhile. Pietro was in no way fazed about his interaction with Stark. Honestly he never expected Clint to kiss him. The speedster wasn’t even thinking when he asked or when he pressed Clint against the wall. Waiting round for thinking was just too slow. In the back of his mind he knew that it was dumb and childish for himself to feel giddy when thinking about that kiss. But… CLINT KISSED BACK! That old man who tried to shoot him when he came back actually kissed him. And by god did he kiss well.   
Pietro had decided to go to the kitchen to get food and didn’t notice the others. Steve was eating yogurt while Natasha and Sam were sharing a bowl of grapes. Wanda was nursing a strawberry smoothie. They watched as Pietro meandered in with the glaze over look and goofy grin that Tony got to see. What was weird was how slow the kid was moving. There was none of that pent up energy or know-it-all grin.   
He meandered over to the fridge and took his time pulling out a yogurt for himself. The others kept watching in mute surprise and Pietro took the seat next to Steve, whose hand had frozen halfway between his yogurt and mouth, and instead of eating it he started slowly mixing it. The worst part was the goofy grin still plastered on his face.   
Just as the others were beginning to go back to what is was they were doing, Pietro put down his spoon and slid out of his char. Then he meandered towards the door and left. There wasn’t a word for a good moment.   
“What the hell was that?” Sam asked first, mind still reeling.   
“I- there’s no words for what that was.” Answered Steve who remembered his yogurt. “Wanda, what’s with your brother?”   
Sam and Natasha also looked to the young witch who suddenly became very interested in her shoes. There was no way she was telling them about Pietro’s feelings towards their resident archer. She knew all about their bet and wanted to get them back for that. Probably harmless pranks like Pietro did to some of the people round town when they were kids.   
“Perhaps he is sick,” she shrugged before taking her smoothie with her to her room.   
“She knows something,” Nat confirmed with one look.   
“And I’m picking that we don’t really wanna know what that is.” Sam added with a pointed look at the red headed assassin. After rolling her eyes, Nat took the last grape from the bowl. Before Sam could complain, Steve’s phone started ringing.   
“Yeah?” He answered as the others watched. “Ok got it. We’ll be there in five.” He then turned to his teammates. “Nat, you up for another fight today?” She nodded. “Good, apparently that mercenary Deadpool is causing havoc downtown.”

It ended up with Cap, Ironman, Widow and Falcon going off to fight Deadpool. Banner stayed behind because his shoulder was still playing up. And also the last time Clint got anywhere near Deadpool, otherwise known as Wade Wilson, they ended up having the worst shouting match which had to be mostly bleeped when it went on the news. Not the best publicity.   
The Maximoff twins stayed behind because Cap thought that Pietro was too distracted (for a good reason). And to be perfectly honest, he was still weirded out by that whole experience. Wanda stayed because she had used a great deal of her powers in the earlier fight and she still hadn’t control over her stamina.   
So Clint was left to babysit in other words. Which was fine when it came to Wanda because she’d visited him so often in the previous months at Laura’s. He knew she’d just be reading in her room and he’d probably check on her in twenty minutes. With Pietro, he had no idea. So Clint went off to the gym and started lifting weights. Which was a good thing for the speedster.   
At first he just watched Clint as he lifted weights. The bar one was his favourite because he got to see Clint’s arms moving a whole lot more. It was a shame that the archer was wearing a shirt but beggars really couldn’t be choosers.   
He watched for a moment as the sweat on Clint’s skin began to make the archer shine. Pietro wandered over, not bothering to be quiet, and kept his eyes on those arms. They would be the death of him one way or another.   
“Do you need any help old man?” Pietro asked, coming to stand beside Clint’s head. Clint rested the weights on the stands but didn’t let go. The lines in his neck shone and Pietro felt a sudden urge to bite down on one.   
“You could be my spotter if you really wanna help.” Answered Clint, still not bothered about the kiss earlier.   
“And does a spotter do?”   
“Well if this falls or you see me start to slip, you catch it. Probably be easy for you, you know?”   
“I can do that.” Clint nodded and went back to lifting. His eyes were so focused on the bar that he didn’t even see Pietro staring. “You know,” Pietro started, filling the silence. “I didn’t thank you for looking after Wanda. She told me how you looked after her on your sister’s farm and how you helped her get over her nightmares.”   
“It was nothing, she needed help and I was there to help. No big deal.”   
“But you see,” Pietro paused, bringing up their childhood was never easy. “I used to be the one who calmed her from her nightmares. I would hum a tune till she fell asleep and I wouldn’t let her go till sunrise. So for me, yeah, it’s a big deal.”   
Clint stopped and looked at Pietro for a moment. There was a seriousness to his gaze that both excited and frightened the speedster. A part of him wanted to be serious too. But that was easily trumped buy his urge to make a joke to ease the tension. “Also, I forgot to thank you for teaching me how to kiss earlier.” Clint suddenly resumed his lifting.   
“Never mention that.”   
“I won’t. But perhaps we could do it again.” Pietro suggested as smoothly as he could manage. Which wasn’t really smooth, just very childish.   
“I taught you already. No need to teach you again,” Clint grunted in response.   
“Yeah, but, what is that saying? Practise makes perfect?”   
In the back of Clint’s mind, there was a little radar that was going off. And that radar had a label underneath it saying warning. But the label was old and had started peeling off. So Clint didn’t really get the idea that he had, in fact, created a monster.

“Why the hell are you using a Frisbee?” Deadpool shouted and he jumped over Cap’s shield as it flew towards the merc. He only had a second to duck before it came flying back towards Cap. “Oh my god it’s a boomerang! Someone call the Australians!”   
Thankfully Downtown wasn’t too damaged. Deadpool had stuck to one street mainly but a lot of cars and shops were ruined because of him. Nat had been there for one minute before Deadpool had started hitting on her. That was the reason why the merc’s suit had eight bullet holes.   
“You. Are. So. Annoying.” Steve grunted as he ran after Deadpool.   
“And you are so shiny!” He called back. But the merc’s path was stopped by Ironman suddenly blocking his path. “I take that back. _You’re_ shiny.”   
“Just like my personality. Now give it up R-rated Spiderman. ” Was Tony’s reply.   
“Stark,” Cap warned. “This is not the time to be agreeing with this bastard or making jokes.”   
“Language!” Both Tony and Deadpool called in unison. That irked Cap to no end. Suddenly Falcon swooped in and managed to kick Deadpool several feet away.   
“If you’re gonna hit him, _hit him_.” Sam huffed, looking between his teammates.   
“I was trying to but Stark decided to have a comedy sketch with Deadpool.” Steve complained, feeling the fringes of fatigue.   
“It was a few lines. Not like we were going on stage together.”   
“You didn’t even try to hit him!”   
“And you’ve been trying to but you haven’t hit him once.”   
“I’ve been trying a lot harder than you and he’s not an easy target.”   
“Oh I’m sorry we can’t all be perfect like you, spangles.”   
“Really? What are you, five years old?”   
“Ah, my age is not relevant and is not public.”   
“I’ve had just about enough of your snark.”   
“Well, dear, I’m sorry you can’t get a joke. Perhaps if you-”   
“GUYS!” Sam called, standing between the super soldier and the Ironman suit. Both of them shook and were left a little startled. All three of them turned to see Natasha walking up to them with an unimpressed and tired look.   
“What happened?” Steve asked, still a little breathless.   
“Well he got away while you two were having your little spat. He said to tell you that he’s seen old married couples who fight like you.”   
“As if I’d agree to marry this guy,” Tony muttered in his robotic voice. Steve gave Tony such a glare that Sam took a step back.   
“Alright,” Nat sighed. “Let’s get some people here to clean up. I think your little domestic will find its way onto the internet in a minute. Let’s get back.”   
As the others headed to the Quinjet, Tony took off towards home. He made sure to tell Friday to delete any video that involve his and Steve’s spat off of the internet. He didn’t forget to ask for one for himself though. It’d make for good pay back or a good bribe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot of Deadpool I know but then again he's not really an enemy. But he might show up some more because he really is one of my favourite characters.   
> And more about Clint's arms.   
> Just saying that I like his arms so obviously I'm writing Pietro as having a sort of infatuation with them. I ain't even sorry :P   
> But yeah, that's the new chapter.   
> Heads up that things heat up in the next chapter so be prepared for that.   
> Thank you once again for your support! 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	8. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another update about Bruce. And Clint is an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7 guys. It's here and you've been very patient.  
> So....  
> Smut warning for this chapter.  
> You don't like? Well there will be more in this story.  
> But no frickle frackle because what kind of build up would that be?
> 
> Enjoy :)

When the others got back, Steve went straight to the training room to punch the sand out of several punching bags. Tony went to his lab to work on some sort of new tech or to just make something new. Nat and Sam found Clint in the kitchen with a newly made sandwich in front of him.  
“God, you guys look terrible.” Clint said, seeing their tired and dirty faces. “What the hell happened?”  
“You remember how you and Deadpool got into an argument last time?” Nat asked as she sat down on the stool opposite Clint and slumped over the countertop.  
“Yeah?”  
“This time it was Cap and Stark,” Sam answered, sitting next to Nat.  
“What the hell happened?”  
“Well you’ve noticed how Steve’s been a bit on edge lately right?” Clint nodded to Natasha. “It seems that with the added stress of Deadpool being… himself, and Tony being… himself, Cap snapped and yelled at Tony.”  
“Not at the merc?”  
“He called the merc a bastard.” Clint huffed at Sam’s comment. The latter went to grab himself a beer.  
“So where are they now?”  
“Steve is punching in the gym and Tony is in his lab.” Clint knew that Natasha meant that it was probably best to let them burn off their steam a bit. “How’re the kids?”  
“Wanda’s been reading in her room. She likes the romance novels Steve secretly keeps. And sonic is playing video games in the other room.”  
“So nothing interesting happened?” Sam asked, coming over to stand next to Clint. Clint shrugged, not bothering to tell them that he’d let Pietro practice his kissing till Clint was out of breath. The kid’s technique had picked up though. Again, he was ignoring the warning light in the back of his head.  
“I reckon we should have that shawarma for dinner tonight. What do you guys reckon?”  
“I haven’t tried it,” Sam answered the archer. “But Steve said it was good.”  
“I’m happy with that.” Was Natasha’s response.  
“Alright, I’ll go ask the Captain and Wanda, can you two ask the others?”  
Natasha and Sam went off to find Tony and Pietro respectively. Steve said a reluctant yes when Clint asked. Wanda had no idea what it was and Clint wasn’t the best at answering (Friday helped with that. The dinner table was more quiet than normal what with Tony and Steve ignoring each other, Clint had a headache which Pietro didn’t know about. He thought the archer was trying to avoid his stare. Nat, Sam and Wanda just really didn’t want to talk in that atmosphere.

The next day, moods were put to the side when Friday alerted Stark to another possible location that Banner’s gamma-signature was found. Obviously Clint stuck beside Natasha during the ride on the Quinjet. Wanda had to keep murmuring low in Sokovian to her brother lest he get up, shove Natasha over to sit between them.  
“ _Why do they sit that close?”_ Pietro hissed in his mother tongue.  
“ _They are friends. He is talking to her about the doctor._ ” Though the reason was fair, Pietro couldn’t help the jealousy he felt. The sooner they found the Doctor, the better.

Bruce’s gamma-signature was marked on a point that was only accessible by foot. So the team left the Quinjet just before night fall. They found an old stone building, very much like Strucker’s, Wanda noted and decided to rest there for the night before getting up at dawn the next morning. Since Tony and Steve were still not talking, Tony left his armour on guard duty and slept in a room by himself. Steve bunked with Sam, Natasha with Wanda and Clint was with Pietro. And Sam and Tony totally hadn’t organized that on purpose.  
The rooms were small but each had two beds. The thin, metal frames were rusted and the springs were too. The mattresses were thin but better than the cold stone floor.  
As Clint laid on his bed with his arms crossed over his chest, he heard strange noises coming from Pietro. The archer sat up and saw that the speedster was tossing his head back and forth while he clenched his knuckles till they were white. Clint knew immediately what was happening.  
So he got off his bed quickly and went and sat down at Pietro’s side. With careful hands, he grabbed hold of Pietro’s shoulders as he talked quietly, soothingly.  
“Hey, Pietro, wake up. It’s a dream. It’s ok. Wake up, kid.” Pietro’s eyes opened suddenly as he stared at Clint like he was a ghost. His breathing was still erratic so Clint dealt with that first.  
“Breathe with me, ok? It won’t do you any good to hyperventilate.” So Pietro, whose mind was still trying to catch up, followed Clint’s orders. But his knuckles never lost their grip.  
“Ok good,” Clint breathed before lying down next to the kid. He rested himself on his left elbow. He knew the kid wouldn’t want to be left alone so he asked what the kid wanted.  
“I don’t want to go back to sleep.” Pietro said, almost without sound. And Clint understood. He knew that there was no sleeping it off or sanctuary to be found in dreams. Nightmares were what awaited the kid as much as they did Clint.  
“I know. But you need rest.” Which was truth. Clint stared down at Pietro and the wild look in the kid’s eyes. He didn’t think when he pressed his lips against Pietro’s. And something twinged in his chest when the speedster kissed back. It was slow, soft, and intimate, in the dark. With his free right hand, Clint rested it on Pietro’s chest. Through the thin, tight shirt he could feel the muscles the kid had. Especially his heart which was racing. Gently, Clint slid his hand down Pietro’s torso, feeling the kid’s muscles twitch under his palm all the while keeping their kiss as soft as possible.  
It drove Pietro crazy, going at such a slow pace. But that was what excited him more, the fact that Clint was so much in control that he was going to take his time with it. The archer was going to be as slow as he wanted and Pietro could already feel his control slipping. He wanted so badly but the thought of scaring Clint off held him in place. But oh how he was excited.  
When Clint’s hand reached further down than Pietro’s waistband, he could feel the beginnings of his excitement. He couldn’t help the smirk at that. And then he started rubbing, oh so slowly. Up and down, up and down. Pietro mewled against Clint’s lips and the archer felt a surge of heat twist in his gut. This kid was going to drive him mad.  
Clint was driving Pietro mad. He wanted more, he wanted faster, he wanted to feel Clint’s calloused hand on his cock and his tongue down his throat.  
“Please,” Pietro breathed against Clint, his eyes glazed over and barely focused on the archer’s own. In response, Clint licked along the seam of his mouth as his hand trailed upwards. At first Clint’s fingers slipped under the hem of Pietro’s tight shirt to feel the smooth plains of his stomach. He wanted to kiss every inch of it. But his decision was taken from him when Pietro used his own hand to undo the button of his pants. His fingers just got a hold on the zipper when Clint’s closed over his.  
“What do you think you’re doing?” Clint asked, voice deeper and raspier than usual.  
“I want to be touched.” Pietro’s accent had become thicker and Clint felt dizzy from the sound of it.  
“I am touching you.” Pietro huffed at that.  
“I want to be touched…” And Clint, in the low moonlight, saw the gorgeous blush on the punk’s face. He couldn’t help the urge to tease.  
“Touch you where? Show me.” Clint then felt Pietro’s hand over his as the latter guided Clint’s hand underneath the fabric to hot, hard and soft skin. “I see.” Clint murmured, pressing his lips against Pietro’s again. Pietro gasped loudly when Clint wrapped his hand around his cock. The muscles in his thighs twitched and his hips bucked. Quickly, he pushed his pants down so Clint could move his hand more freely. Which he did.  
“Clint,” Pietro moaned, burying his face against Clint’s neck.  
“That’s right,” Clint ground out, licking his lips at the sight of Pietro fucking into Clint’s hand. “Say my name, kid. Say it.”  
“Clint.” Then Pietro caught Clint’s upper arm in his hand. If only the archer knew how much the speedster had been fantasizing about them. His breath was making Clint’s neck as damp as he was Clint’s hand. It felt so good and he couldn’t help the moans that slipped out.  
“Shh, kid. I’ve got you.” Clint murmured into Pietro’s hair, twisting his wrist ever so and running his thumb over the head. That had Pietro’s hips spasming and faltering the pace for moment. Clint was man enough to admit that the sight and sounds of Pietro were making him hot under the collar. All sorts of dirty thoughts entered his mind but he pushed them down in favour of helping the kid. After all, that was what he was doing. This wasn’t any else. Just helping with a nightmare.  
“You like this?” Clint asked, despite his thoughts on the matter. He wanted the kid to enjoy it; and maybe the kid liked sex talk.  
“Yeah,” Pietro answered, feeling heat in his lower gut and where Clint’s skin touched his.  
“You gonna come?” At that, Pietro mewled and clutched tighter to Clint’s arm. Something dominating and possessive curled its way into Clint’s lust and he really didn’t think about the words that fell from his lips in a growl.  
“Come for me, Pietro.” And the sound and meaning behind those words cause such a flare of arousal in Pietro that he did as Clint commanded. When he came, Clint’s name got strangled in his throat as Pietro pushed his head as far back into the pillow as he could manage. The force of it all blanked out his mind and made him breathless.  
The sight of Pietro bowing backwards had Clint a little mind numb and breathless himself, to be perfectly honest.  
When the kid finally came back to himself, Clint had managed to wipe the evidence of his ministrations on the speedster away. When Clint returned to the bed, he sat down with his back against the wall and his legs stretched out beside Pietro.  
“Think you can sleep now?” Pietro nodded slightly, he’d never felt so lethargic. “I won’t leave till you’re asleep. And a little bit after that, got it?”  
“Yessir,” Pietro slurred, already falling asleep. Clint huffed at that.  
True to his word, Clint stayed a while. But then he too needed sleep and shuffled back to his own bed.  
The morning comes, and with it, an ease that Pietro hadn’t woken up with in a long time. Last night felt like a dream. But the phantom touches that he could still feel cemented the reality of it. And that made Pietro quite giddy. What made it even better was the fact that he got to watch Clint wake up from across the room. Pietro had curled on his side and waited while Clint snuffled his nose and threw an arm over his eyes.  
“What time is it?” The archer asked, his voice thick from sleep.  
“Just before dawn,” Pietro replied, trying to sound just awake himself. Clint groaned and rubbed his eyes before sitting up. He stretched his arms above his head and his back gave a small click. Then the older man slumped over with his arms lax on his lap.  
“God I need coffee.” He grumbled. Pietro chuckled at that before rolling out of bed. Cap would be getting them soon and he didn’t want to be caught still in bed. Pietro was putting on his shoes when Clint started talking.  
“So, about last night.” Clint began and a small giddy shot of excitement sparked in Pietro’s chest. “I’m sorry.” And that wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.  
“What do you mean? What for?”  
“Things kinda got carried away last night. I just want to make sure that things aren’t weird between us.” Dread started crawling its way around Pietro’s giddy excitement.  
“Weird how?” The kid couldn’t bring himself to look at Clint so he kept fettling with his laces. He heard Clint sigh though, stumbling over his words.  
“I mean- we- this doesn’t change anything between us. We’re still teammates. Still friends. Me jerking you off won’t change that.”  
And then it hit him. Clint didn’t get it. He didn’t understand. This was all just some dumb game for him. A dumb game with an even dumber kid. But Pietro was man enough to swallow that down for now. He was _not_ going to break down in front of Clint. No fucking way.  
“Ok.” Was all he could manage.  
“So we cool?” Not trusting the strength of his voice, Pietro nodded and stood up, making his way to the door. Clint watched warily from the edge of his bed. “Where are you going?”  
“For a run,” he said as calmly as he could.  
“Alright, but be back soon. Cap wants us out there looking for Bruce.” In response to that, Pietro waved his hand before dashing off faster than Clint could blink.  
Be it the early hour or the fact that the effects of sleep had finally ebbed away, Clint realized something. Finally, that little warning light in the back of his head that had been flashing since Pietro had kissed him, finally made sense. The kissing wasn’t for practise and the night before did change things. And Clint realized, now too late, that he fucked up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.......  
> That happened.  
> And now I'm just gonna go and leave this here.
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idiot goes and tries to not be an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooooooooooooooooooooooou guys.   
> Oh.   
> My.   
> God.   
> The response to the last chapter was incredible to read.   
> So I'll hurry up and give you this. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

When Clint walked into the hallway, he was hit in the chest by something hot and was sent back several feet. He rolled onto his feet to face his attacker. Wanda stood there, already dressed, eyes red and her hands at the ready. She was mad.   
“Good morning to you too, sunshine.” He said warily. The others weren’t out. Yet.   
“You,” she hissed, red tendrils dancing around her hands. “What did you do to Pietro?” In her anger, Wanda’s accent became thicker which just freaked Clint out even more.   
“What do you mean?” She stepped towards him. Clint was smart enough to know to stand up and take a step back. He did.   
“My brother’s heart is broken. What did you do to him?”   
“What makes you think I did something?”   
“Because he is in love with you!” She shrieked seconds before Natasha, Sam, Steve and Tony appeared in the hallway. They all managed to duck out of the way of Wanda’s fury as it collided with the stone walls. Clint was afraid she was going to bring the whole building down.   
“What is going on?” Steve demanded, his hair a little ruffled from sleep.   
“Wanda thinks I broke Pietro’s heart.” The others are silent for a moment while they look among themselves. “Which is dumb because the kids isn’t in love with Me.”   
“Actually, Clint.” Natasha said carefully. “He kind of is.”   
“That’s not something to joke about.”   
“She’s not joking Everdeen.” Tony added, looking a little amused. “Why do you think Sabrina here is so angry?”   
“But he- I haven’t-”   
“What? Noticed?” Continued Tony. “For our group’s sharp shooter, you’re pretty blind. The kid stares at you like you’re his next meal.”   
“He glares at ya when you’re sitting to close to Nat,” Sam pointed out. So much for birdbros.   
“Then how the hell haven’t I noticed?” Clint complained, throwing his arms up.   
“Honestly, we have no idea.” It was Steve who spoke then. “We thought you were ignoring him because he was annoying you.”   
“But turns out he’s got a mad crush on you.”   
Then Clint’s eyes widened and his head stopped. The others watched as Clint sighed, finally seeing how much damage he had done.   
“I fucked up.”   
“You certainly did,” muttered Tony who got a glare from Steve. Then suddenly, Wanda was in front of Clint and she slammed him against the wall with her magic. She held him there as she stepped closer. The others didn’t move to help.   
“You are going to find my brother,” she hissed with a deadly glare. “And you are going to apologize. Even if you have to get on your knees and beg.” And then she had stepped back and let Clint fall to his knees. “You’re my friend, Clint. You took care of me and I care about you. But I will not hesitate to rip you apart if you don’t fix this.”   
Only a suicidal idiot, like Deadpool, would try to argue with her. So Clint nodded and stood up.   
“Where’s the kid now, do you know?” Asked Clint, keeping himself away from Wanda.   
“Here,” Tony said as he handed the archer a portable screen. “He’s the little flashing red light.”   
“Got it,” Clint nodded before going into his room to grab his arrows.   
“What, are you planning to shoot him” Nat deadpanned.   
“No, one of these has a net. I can’t talk to him if I can’t catch him.” And with that, Clint left the others in search of Pietro.

The forest was quiet and kind of dark. But Clint just followed the map on Stark’s screen. It showed his position and Pietro’s. Thankfully the speedster had stopped someplace close. Clint didn’t feel like doing a marathon thank you very much.   
But the time alone gave him time to think. And as he thought, he’d realized that he really hadn’t seen the kid look at him. He was always looking at other things when the kid was talking to him. And their interactions had been sort of friendly when Clint wasn’t pointing an arrow at Pietro. But they hadn’t spent too much time together. What with the Maximoffs being with Hydra to begin with. Then Ultron. Then with the Avengers but they were busy fighting Tony’s murder bot.   
But despite all of that, Clint knew that he was, in a small part of himself, attracted to Pietro. And from what Wanda had told him on the farm, the kid was funny when he wanted. Or when he wasn’t trying to piss off Clint with the whole ‘you didn’t see that coming?’ thing they had going on.   
That was special, and there’s. Clint cringed.

The archer came across a building similar to the one they stayed in that night. Pietro’s signal was beeping from in there so Clint headed on in. He kept his bow loaded.   
He found Pietro on the third floor. The speedster was curled into a ball and held himself with his arms wrapped around his legs. Clint could see how white his knuckles were. But at the sound of Clint’s steps, the kid was up in an instant. His fists stayed clenched and his eyes were full of anger.   
“What are you doing here?” He growled, his accent curling the words. Very much like they had curled something in Clint’s gut last night. Now it just felt like lead.   
“I came here to talk. Please,” the archer pleaded when it looked like Pietro was going to run again. But Pietro didn’t. He just waited for Clint to continue even though every single fibre of his being was telling him to run. He just didn’t know where.   
“Fine,” Pietro decided, not easing his stance. So Clint took the time to put his arrow away and his bow too. Even after all of the time he’d spent thinking about his words, Clint still couldn’t find the right ones. He settled with-   
“So you’re in love with me, according to your sister,” Clint stated calmly.   
“According to my sister?” Clint could hear the strain in Pietro’s voice. Whether he was trying not to cry or punch the archer, Clint wasn’t sure.   
“Yeah, and so did the others. They knew.”   
“And you didn’t.” Clint broke eye contact for a moment to think over his next words. He was reluctant to look back at Pietro’s icy, pained eyes.   
“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t realize that you liked me so much.” Pietro glared at Clint for three seconds before answering.   
“Didn’t realize? How far up your arse is your head that you couldn’t see that?”   
“Pretty damn far, apparently.” Pietro huffed and looked away. “Look, I know I fucked up. Big time. But I’m not used to people flirting with me. I haven’t dated in years because I’ve been so damn busy with work.”   
“You think kissing someone isn’t flirting?”   
“No. Yes. Wait, dammit. Ugh. In my head, I thought you were just playing and you wanted to learn and I wasn’t thinking because I never thought that you’d ever like me because people don’t usually go for me. They go for Thor or Steve or Tony. And obviously a kid like you wouldn’t like an old man like me.”   
“I’m not a kid,” Pietro hissed. Clint stared at him for a moment, then nodded.   
“You’re right. You’re a grown man and I should be treating you like one. Again, I’ve fucked up.” Clint sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “I do, kind of, feel the same for you. Ok? Fuck, you’re hot as hell and have a smile that could outshine the friggen sun. And I just enjoy having you around. But-”   
“But?” Pietro urged when Clint hesitated.   
“I just have this fear that I only feel this way about you because you’re the idiot who saved my life. No, let me finish,” Clint snapped when it looked like the speedster was going to interrupt. “I’ve seen it happen. Someone saves the person they love and the other feels as though they love that person back but it’s only gratitude and slight hero worship. And I didn’t want to do that.   
So there you have it. Why I ignored my feelings and why I didn’t see yours. Now you can call me an idiot and yell all you like. The others bloody will.”   
Pietro was quiet long enough to make Clint squirm. There was a storm of thoughts in Pietro’s head, but one thought found its way into the eye of it.   
“Say it,” he demanded in a quiet voice.   
“Say what?”   
“How you feel about me.” Clint looked a little surprised and that. Then hesitant. The idiot was holding onto his pride. “Tell me or I’ll run again and I’ll tell Wanda that you broke my heart.”   
Clint groaned loudly and stormed towards Pietro. He was less than half a metre from the speedster when he glared up at him.   
“I really like you. Is that what you want to hear?” And then that sly smirk tugged at the corners of Pietro’s lips.   
“It’ll have to do.” He replied, feeling triumphant. Clint sighed and grabbed the back of Pietro’s neck. The latter welcomed the brutal kiss as he clutched at Clint’s arms. He planned on telling Clint all about his infatuation with them as sensually as possible.   
When they broke the kiss, Pietro couldn’t help his broad smile. But Clint wasn’t done talking, though he still wrapped his arm around the speedster’s waist.   
“Just letting you know that I’m crap at dating. But I’m up for it if you are.” Pietro nodded quickly and Clint couldn’t help but think that his moppy hair looked a little adorable. “I should warn you that I’m not-”   
“Special? Attractive? Important in anyway?” Clint _knew_ that voice. It haunted his dreams too often. Pietro couldn’t even blink before Clint had pulled back to fire an arrow off behind him. Luckily he turned just in time to see a green cloud of light disperse and the arrow hit the wall behind it.   
“Clint, what-” And then Clint had a tight grip on his shoulders, forcing him to look back at the archer. He looked angry.   
“Pietro, I need you to get me to the others.” And then Pietro felt angry. He thought that Clint didn’t want to talk anymore. That the archer was avoiding him for some dumb reason.   
“No, we’re not done talking.” Clint rolled his eyes and smashed his lips against Pietro’s in what he thought could still count as a kiss.   
“Look,” he growled, suddenly all agent like. “We can keep talking later. We can talk over dinner or when we’re having sex. I don’t mind. But that bastard was the one who brainwashed me and sent an army of aliens to New York. Get. Me. To. The. Others.”   
And Pietro wasn’t told again. He picked Clint up like last time but with no complaint. He liked the warmth of the archer, a small part of his brain reminded him. So not the time for that. They’d have plenty later.

They were at the others in four seconds. They all stood outside the entrance of the abandoned building.   
“Pietro!” Wanda called, turning away from the group.   
“Guys,” Clint called, walking towards the other Avengers. “I got bad news. It’s-”   
Suddenly, a huge wall of gold light with trickles of other colours slammed down in front of Clint. Pietro had pulled him back just in time. When the rush of the light stopped, Thor stood in his armour and red cap. Mjolnir was in his hand and a black mark was scorched on the ground. He looked from the others to Clint, who had Pietro’s arms around his waist from behind, and back. And then he spoke three words in his deep, Asgardian accent.   
“Loki is here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now can y'all stop being mad at Clint?   
> So guess who's coming to the party? Loki should make for an interesting twist.   
> But yeah, after your guys' anger, I knew that if I didn't fix Clint's huge mistake you would have come after me with knives and stuff. No thank you!   
> And to those who were so upset by the last chapter, sorry but it had to happen. And now we have happy Hawksilver :D  
> Don't hate me anymore!  
> Now I'm off to do the next one because I'm pretty sure that you'll be wanting the next chapter asap.
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after Loki's arrival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being sick sucks.   
> Hopefully this chapter doesn't!
> 
> Enjoy :)

“What do you mean?” Steve demanded, walking over to Thor. Pietro let go of Clint to go over to his sister. Clint made his was over to Thor and Steve.   
“My brother is here on Midgard. I am not sure what it is that he wants.” Stated Thor who looked very much like an angry bear.   
“How the hell do you know?” Tony asked.   
“I saw him when I talking to Pietro,” Clint added. Thor nodded to the archer.   
“That is what Heimdall saw. I came here as quickly as I could.”   
“Well where is he?” Questioned Nat who came to stand next to Clint. She shot the twins a weary look, still not hundred percent ok with them after Wanda had threatened Clint.   
“I do not know,” Thor replied. “But we must find him-”  
“Woah, wait.” Tony interrupted loudly. Clint noticed Steve’s jaw clench. “Are we forgetting the most important part here?” Everyone looked incredulously at each other. Stark sighed. “The bet!”   
“Stark, now is not the time to-” Steve started to growl but Tony stopped him.   
“Hey, I have a bet to win and I want to know.”   
“What bet?” Thor asked. Suddenly, Stark, Cap, Sam, Wanda and Natasha were staring at Clint. Stark had a leery grin on his face which worried the archer.   
“Did you kiss speedy Gonzales?” Nobody missed the red that Pietro went.   
“What the fuck?” Clint complained, getting really tempted to reach for an arrow.   
“Did you?”   
“Well yeah. But-”   
“Nat and Cap, pay up.”   
“Stark, we have bigger things to worry about now. We’ll sort the bet out later.” Tony pouted at Cap but didn’t argue. Thor looked confusedly between his comrades.

The ride back home was quiet. They didn’t go after Bruce because the signal had stopped. Nat was quiet the whole ride home. Pietro stuck next to his sister mainly because she was still murderous when it came to the archer and Pietro wanted him alive for a little while longer before Wanda got to him. But by god did he just want to jump Clint and kiss the breath right out of him. But Pietro also knew that Clint wouldn’t like that. So he waited. Clint ended up talking to Thor since he was still mad at Stark and Sam for betting on him. Steve and Nat he could forgive because A: it was Nat, and B: something was going on with Steve and Clint wanted to know what.   
“So you and the elder Maximoff?” Thor questioned.   
“Yeah, kind of.” Clint murmured, ignoring the eyes he could feel on hm. Thor clapped the archer hard on the face with a heart chuckle.   
“Best wishes to you both,” Thor said with a broad smile. Clint groaned, wishing he could jump out of the Quinjet right then and there. He dutifully ignored Tony sniggering.  
When they got back to the tower, Steve called an emergency meeting.   
“What are we going to do about Loki?” That question was obvious but still needed to be answered. As suggestions were being thrown around, Pietro stared at Clint (obviously) for the duration of the meeting. It worried him. Clint had his arms tightly crossed over his chest as he stood off to the side. The scowl on his face caused deep lines to form. Every time someone said ‘Loki’, Clint seemed to tense up. Pietro wanted to go over and relax the archer. Ease up the tension that seemed to way him down. But with the murderous look Clint had, Pietro knew it’d be best to stay away.   
Once the conversation was over, and no set-in-stone solution, Clint was out of the room before anyone had moved. The others didn’t try to stop him or ask him where he was going.   
“You wanna know what’s got him so angry, right?” Sam asked, looking at the confused twins. Pietro nodded.   
“That Loki guy attacked New York a few years back. With a whole bunch of aliens.” Sam explained sourly.   
“He was the one to brainwash Clint,” Steve added with a scowl of his own. “He made him attack SHIELD agents and kill some.”   
“That is why he does not like me using my powers on him,” Wanda muttered, looking a little guilty. Pietro took her hand in his own.   
“I’ll go talk to him,” stated Natasha before standing up and following after Clint. When Pietro stood to go too, Tony stopped him.   
“Leave it kid, you’ll get your chance later. Just leave this one to Natasha.” Stark did feel a bit bad at Pietro’s pouty-kicked-puppy face. Wanda held his hand tighter.

Natasha knew that Clint would be on the balcony and found him there with a drink in his hand. He was sitting on one of the chairs with his shoulders hunched over.   
“Isn’t it a bit early to be drinking?” She asked, walking over to take the seat next to him.   
“It’s ten pm somewhere,” he answered. Nat waited a moment before speaking.   
“So Loki’s back. Is that what’s got you all tense?” Clint’s silence said enough. “I won’t let you get brainwashed again. I promise.”   
“You know you can’t.” Clint replied, taking a sip. Natasha could smell the bourbon.   
“Right. But I did snap you out of it. And I can do it again.” Clint nodded at that, feeling a little more reassured. “So you and Pietro, who would’ve thought that?”   
“Sam and Stark.”   
“Yeah. So why are you with him?” Clint shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to get all emotional.   
“His sister didn’t really give me a choice.”   
“Clint,” Natasha snapped, brining all of Clint’s attention to her. “You have to make sure that you’re with this kid because you want to be. Not because you’re afraid of his sister.”   
And Clint knew she was right, obviously. He wasn’t dumb enough to believe his lame excuse.   
“I know,” he muttered. “Of course I know. A whole lot of this doesn’t make sense to me still. And it’s all confusing and it’d just be easier to run away from it all. But I can’t. And I know that all of this only makes sense when I’m with him. Otherwise I start panicking and I just can’t handle it.”   
Nat patted Clint’s shoulder reassuringly.   
“I’m just glad it’s not because he’s a guy.”   
“You know I’ve been with guys before.”   
“But does he?”   
“With that hand-job I gave him, yeah, he knows.” Clint hid his smirk with a sip of his bourbon. Natasha just huffed and rolled her eyes. “Alright,” Clint grunted as he stood up. Before carrying on, he tossed back the rest of his drink. “I’ve got a sonic the hedgehog wannabe to talk to.”   
“Good luck,” Nat called after him. She didn’t leave that chair till the early hours of the morning.

After the meeting, Pietro had gone to his room to take a shower. He was dirty and tired and ached a little. But really he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts. The water was warm against his skin and Pietro sighed at the feel of it. But it didn’t shake the cold he felt at the thought of Clint’s cold expression. The haunted look in his eyes worried Pietro to no end. He didn’t care about kissing Clint or talking about their relationship-thing. He wanted to hold the stupid archer and protect him against this ‘Loki’. But a small part of Pietro was worried that he wouldn’t be able to.   
The sound of the bathroom door opening jolted the speedster out of his thoughts. He wiped some of the condensation off of the glass and saw Clint standing there. Pietro leaned over to open the door after pushing his hair out of his face.   
“What are you doing here?” He asked over the din of the water. But Clint didn’t say anything. He just smirked. Pietro was about to ask something else when Clint undid his belt. Pietro watched as the archer slid the belt from the loops and dropped it noisily on the ground. He realized where this was going when Clint shucked off his jacket and dropped that too. The Sokovian became breathless as he clutched at the glass, watching while the man in front of him slipped his shirt off over his head.   
Clint took his time sliding his pants and underwear down and by then, he could see that Pietro was already half hard. He wasn’t too far behind if he was being honest.   
“Can I join you?” Clint asked, enjoying the hitch in Pietro’s voice before he nodded. Pietro was shamelessly staring at Clint’s body. Eyes roaming over every one of his muscles as Clint walked into the shower. And Pietro wasn’t the only one staring. But Clint had managed to keep himself from gaping like a fish.   
“Clint,” Pietro gasped, bringing his hands up to Clint’s pectorals. The older man was warm and his skin was soft. He could feel the battle hardened muscles underneath while Clint breathed.   
“You said you wanted to talk,” Clint replied even though he knew neither of them planned on holding a proper conversation.   
And then Pietro was pressed right up against Clint. They both moaned at the feel of skin on skin. Pietro shuddered, wrapping his arms around Clint’s neck as he ground his arousal against Clint’s. The archer grabbed his hips and rocked against the lustful mess in his arms.   
“Oh fuck!” He groaned into Pietro’s mop-messy hair. He wanted the kid closer so he wrapped one arm around Pietro’s body while the other went down to grab his ass.   
“Ah!” Pietro gasped, rocking harder against the archer. “Damn, Clint… please!”   
“I got you,” Clint replied, breathless. He pushed Pietro against the glass which had the younger crying out. But Pietro didn’t let go. Especially when Clint grabbed his thighs and pulled them up over his hips. “That’s better,” the archer grunted. Pietro loosened his hold so he could gaze lucidly at Clint. The archer groaned at the sight of Pietro: pink cheeks and reddened lip from where he had been biting it. There was no way Clint could have resisted kissing Pietro. There was nothing sweet about it. Clint took Pietro’s breath away with sloppy, open mouth kisses. Pietro was more than happy when he felt Clint’s tongue slide along his.   
And then Clint was rolling his hips, brushing their cocks together. Always being the faster one, Pietro grabbed them both in his hands and started jerking them both off. Becoming breathless himself, Clint pulled back to mouth at Pietro’s neck.   
“Clint!” Pietro sobbed before he trailed off in a slur of Sokovian as they both started thrusting against each other.   
“I’ve got you, Pietro. Fuck, you feel so good. God, kid, just come for me already,” he groaned, feeling dangerously close himself.   
“I want you in me!” Pietro cried, mind too far gone. But Clint was too far gone at that point. Those words set Clint off. The next thing Pietro knew was Clint biting down on his shoulder while he thrust harder against Pietro as he came. The speedster wasn’t far behind, clinging to Clint and shuddering in his arms. Sated, Clint let go of Pietro’s legs as leaned against him for a while longer. The water was still warm. When they felt ready to move, Clint turned the water off and pulled Pietro out of the shower. He let Pietro’s hand go just to dry the pair of them roughly.   
Then Clint took Pietro’s hand and pulled him over to the bed. They both flopped down on top of the covers in a tangle of limbs. Clint found himself with a mop of black and white on his chest and two very sinewy legs entangled with his own.   
“Are you still worried about this Loki person?” Pietro asked, skimming his fingertips over Clint’s navel.   
“Not right now, to be honest.” He chuckled. Clint could just make out Pietro’s small huff. “Give it time and I will.”   
“I’ll do what I can to protect you,” Pietro said quietly, not sounding a hundred percent sure. But Clint appreciated it all the same.   
“That’s good to hear, thank you. I won’t let him touch you either.” And for a while, they just dozed off. They enjoyed the quiet and peace in each other’s arms. And when Pietro woke up a bit, he remembered something.   
“I meant what I said.” He stated, not alluding to what he meant. Clint just hummed in a questioning manner. Pietro shuffled so he could look up at Clint who had his eyes closed. Pietro was patient enough to wait till Clint opened his eyes. “Next time we’re intimate,” Pietro started. “I want you inside me.” Clint groaned and bit back the stirring of his next wave of arousal.   
“You’re gonna be the death of me.” He grumbled with a smirk.

“Stark,” Steve called, chasing Tony down the hallway. Tony turned and waited for the man-out-of-time.   
“What is it? Something about Loki?”   
“No, I just owe you money from the bet.” Steve stated matter-of-factly.   
“Oh. Ok then,” Stark replied, a little put down. Steve didn’t really notice. “So the archer and the road runner,” Tony remarked after getting his (not so well earned) money. The two fell into step together.   
“Seems like it.” Answered Steve.   
“I hope we don’t have to deal with PDA.”   
“I don’t think Barton’s the kind of guy to do that.”   
“You can’t say the same for the kid, what with the way he was trying to eat Clint alive with his eyes.”   
“That’s a disturbing thought, Stark.” Tony just shrugged his shoulders.   
“You still mad at me?” Tony tried, using his puppy-dog eyes. Steve just rolled his.   
“If you stop with that dumb look I will.”   
“Deal!” Tony hollered with a triumphant smile. “By the way, Fury called. He reckons we should head to the HQ to deal with the whole Loki situation.”   
“That does sound like a good idea, get all of our resources together.”   
“Just what I thought. We’ll head out after dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the late update but I was sick and it sucked.   
> UGHHH  
> But hey, let's move past that :D   
> More Hawksilver on the way.   
> And I've taken several of your ideas from the comments and hopefully I can deliver!
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	11. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint has to give some bad news and Pietro doesn't do jealousy well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where o' where have I been?   
> I've been to London to see the fair Queen.   
> (I hope you guys know that rhyme)   
> I have no idea why this chapter took so long but it didn't want to be written. Till just an hour ago so let's not waste time!
> 
> Enjoy :)

The ride to the Avengers HQ wasn’t as awkward as the previous times. Wanda had eased up on Clint at Pietro’s request and Natasha had eased up on Wanda and Clint’s request.   
Thor ended up telling Sam and the twins all about Asgard and the great battles he had been a part of. Clint piloted so he could pretend to ignore Stark. Stark had started making jokes and hints about Pietro being super-fast in several ‘areas’ and it must’ve been ‘frustrating’ for Clint. The archer just shrugged and dutifully defended Pietro’s honour by replying with – “The kid’s got metabolism like you’d never believe. Just means I get to have fun over and over.” And that shut Stark up quite nicely. Steve had ended up reading during the ride.   
Rhodey was beside Vision and Fury when the Quinjet landed. The others made their way over to them while Clint switched off the Quinjet. Pietro lagged behind and Clint was absolutely ok with that. Sam made gagging noises when he saw Clint and Pietro smiling like dumb teenagers at each other. They really were ridiculous. But Clint sobered up as he approached Fury. Old habit and all. Pietro, on the other hand, became stiff at the sight of his sister eyeing up Vision. Why were the Maximoff twins so bad with subtle staring?   
But when Pietro looked back to Clint, his archer, _his,_ was giving Colonel Rhodes a questioning look.   
“What’s up?” Clint muttered to Rhodey, falling into step with the other.   
“I got a call,” he answered as the others were walking faster than them. Rhodey noticed how Pietro kept glancing back at Clint. Interesting.   
“That all you gonna give me or are you gonna skip the twenty questions?” Clint mused.   
“Pepper’s dating.”   
“What the fuck?” Clint said a little too loudly. The others turned around to stare but not for long. Clint shook his head at Natasha.   
“I know, and Tony will hear about it sooner or later.”   
“So why are you telling me?” Rhodey paused.   
“I would tell him, as his friend. But I’m also Pepper’s friend. And I’m about to head out.”   
“Then why not get Steve?”   
“I’ve got a feeling that that won’t end well.” Clint raised an eyebrow.   
“You want to elaborate on that?”   
“Not really,” Rhodey answered. “But tell him, won’t you?”   
“Yeah sure.” Colonel Rhodes gave Clint a smile then turned right once inside the building. Clint watched him go and didn’t notice Pietro coming over to him.   
“What did he want?” Pietro asked, eye giving Clint a once over.   
“For me to give Stark some bad news. I’ll see you later, yeah?” Pietro nodded, not really wanting Clint to go but not being in a position to stop him. So he just settled for staring at the archer’s arse as he walked away. That’d be enough for now.   
Clint made his way over to Stark who was making faces behind Fury’s back. He clapped the genius on the shoulder and signalled for him to follow. When Steve gave Clint a questioning look, the archer shook his head. So the Captain let them go without a fuss. They headed to a small room with two couches facing each other and a coffee table between them. Stark sank into the couch with a small groan, as did Clint. Age was catching up to them, not that either would ever admit it.   
“So, what’s up?” He asked with a relaxed grin. Clint felt like shooting himself in the foot upon seeing that. The grin fell slightly when Clint hesitated. “What is it?”   
“There’s no easy way to tell you this. And you won’t like me sugar coating it.”   
“Barton, if you don’t tell me right now, I’ll steal every single one of your arrows.” It was meant to be a joke but Clint could hear the worry that Tony tried hard to hide. Clint was just better at catching it.   
“Rhodey told me that Pepper’s dating.” And a pin dropping could be heard in the silence that followed. Stark’s face fell and Clint had a hard time keeping eye contact. He didn’t have to worry. Tony started looking about the room, anywhere Clint wasn’t, like a lost dog.   
“I’m sorry, man.” The archer said. He had nothing else to say. Nodding was about the only thing Tony could do at that point so Clint got up to sit back down beside him. The heavy hand Clint put on Stark’s shoulder thankfully wasn’t shrugged off. Stark’s pride hadn’t yet clouded his need.   
And Stark _needed_ someone then. It was like a punch to the throat when Pepper had ended it, though she still hoped to be friends since she ran his company. And he thought he could do the whole friend thing. After ten years. And then another eight before he’d be ready for either of them to date. But so soon? Really? And Clint sat there not knowing that all of that was going on in Tony’s mind. Though, Clint didn’t really like the idea of people being in minds that weren’t their own.   
“Is she happy?” Tony asked in a ragged voice. The archer jumped a little out of surprise.   
“Ah- I’d assume so. Pepper’s not really in the business of getting second best.”   
“Maybe that’s why she left me.”   
“Well I’m not Miss Potts so you’d have to ask her. Or Happy. Ask Happy.”   
“I’ll ask Happy.”   
“Want me to stay?” Clint asked.   
“Nah, I just wanna scream into that cushion over there,” Tony replied, pointing the green cushion on the adjacent couch.   
“Alright,” Clint sighed as he gave Tony another friendly pat on the shoulder before standing up. “Here.” The archer tossed the desired cushion to Stark before he made his way out of the room. “Excuse me,” Clint said to a passing agent. “Where’s Director Fury?”   
“In meeting room one,” she replied with a nod in the general direction of said room.   
“Thanks,” he replied before making his way there. When he got there, everyone was sitting down except Fury who was pacing at the head of the table.   
“Glad you could join us, Barton.” He sneered. “Where the hell is Stark?”   
“He’s in one of the lounges.”   
“Why the hell isn’t he here?”   
“I had to tell him something. Personal.” Clint answered but carried on at Natasha and Steve’s concern. Fury didn’t care either way. “Miss Potts has started dating.” Everyone was quiet for a long moment.   
“Rogers!” Fury called when Steve suddenly bolted out of his seat. “Where the hell are you going?”   
“To talk to Stark,” he shouted back before the door closed.   
“Leave him, Sir.” Clint suggested when it looked like Fury was about to call the Captain back. Fury just shrugged his shoulders and indicated for Clint to sit. So he did, right next to Pietro. Everyone did their best to ignore the boyish grin the crept on Pietro’s lips.   
As Fury went on and on about the ‘Loki’ situation, Pietro had zoned out. The sight of Clint walking away with Stark had irked Pietro more than he would’ve liked. More than he’d ever admit. Jealousy in youth was always more seething than in older people. And Pietro hadn’t got to the maturity level to let the incident slide. Nor the level to know when to not cause mischief.   
Pietro had noticed that his chair was a little low. And slouching as he was, no one could see Pietro’s hands which made the Sokovian very pleased. Slowly, his hand moved from where it was on his lap over to Clint’s knee. The archer stiffened slightly under Pietro’s hand but showed none of it on his face. Clint dutifully kept his eyes on the Director but his words seemed to lose their meaning.   
Taking Clint’s silence as affirmation, Pietro pressed his hand to the inside of Clint’s left thigh. He squeezed for a moment and felt the muscles twitch. The kid carried on by stroking his fingers lightly up along the seam of Clint’s pants. Oh so slowly. But Pietro got to the apex of Clint’s legs, he moved his hand back down again, not going near Clint’s cock. His smirk got a little harder to hide.   
Clint sat there as Pietro moved his hand up and down his thigh. Really, that wasn’t doing anything. Clint did not go through years of training with SHIELD to then have an immature Sokovian make him squirm in his seat. Clint wasn’t a teenager anymore.   
When Pietro noticed that Clint wasn’t moving an inch he upped the ante. Curling his fingers, Pietro scratched up Clint’s thigh before pressing his palm roughly against Clint’s crotch. That caused Clint’s knee to jump and a scowl to form on his face. When Nat saw the scowl, she just put it down to the fact that they were speaking about Loki. It would’ve taken her a while to guess that Pietro was tightening and loosening his grip on Clint's cock through his pants.   
Clint had to try harder to keep his control when the speedster started rubbing up and down with the heel of his palm. His fingers would curl on the up stroke; just to be a complete tease. And Pietro’s efforts were rewarded with Clint hardening under his hand. In his mind, the speedster was doing backflips and cheering like crazy. Thankfully Wanda was too preoccupied with listening to Fury and staring at Vision out of the corner of her eye. Goddamn Maximoffs.   
Poor Clint had to dig his nails into his arms the more Pietro touched him. He just wanted to drag the ki- the man out of the room by the scruffy hair at the nape of his neck. After that… Well Clint wasn’t about to risk thinking on it while Wanda was in the same room. The spoil-sport that she was. Breathing became a bit of a challenge to keep calm by the time Clint was fully hard. The inside of his lip was bitten brutally while Clint did his best to stay passive and thoughtful looking. Fury’s lecture was a blur to him as all he could think of was that damn speedster-sonic-the-hedgehog-idiot that wouldn’t stop rubbing him. To be fair, Clint hadn’t tried to stop Pietro either. And this, in turn, made Pietro want to break Clint’s control. He yearned for a hitch in Clint’s breath or a whimper or something that indicated that Clint was losing it. Besides him being hard.   
So in an attempt to make the archer come, Pietro started vibrating his hand. The hum was quiet enough that the others didn’t notice. Nor did they notice how badly Clint wanted the damn meeting to end so he could get himself off. Maybe kick Pietro a couple of times… or kiss. Either one; Clint wasn’t picky.   
“Well we can’t make much of a plan without Captain Rogers and Stark not here so we’ll talk more later. Dismissed.” Fury announced. Suddenly, Pietro’s hand had disappeared from Clint’s crotch and the Sokovian was out of the room. Every looked to Clint for an answer who just shrugged in return.   
“Hey Barton,” Sam called as they all stood from their seats. Unfortunately, Clint was in no condition to talk. He blurted something that he hoped sounded like ‘bathroom’ before racing towards the nearest bathroom. Any agent who passed Clint only had time to see his uncomfortable face (the fabric of his pants were rubbing torturously against him). They didn’t see the tent in his pants thankfully.   
Once inside the bathroom, he shut the door and went to the farthest cubical once he knew no one else was in there. He was clumsy with his button and zip but he managed and shucked his pants down to his thighs. Clint couldn’t help the groan he made when he took himself in hand. He had tugged at himself a few times before he heard a knock on the cubical door. Clint froze.   
“Who is it?” He asked, praying that it wasn’t Sam. Or Fury. Fuck.   
“Open the door,” a very familiar voice said. One with a thick Sokovian accent. The archer wasted no time in complying.   
“You bastard,” Clint hissed as he stared at the smirk on Pietro’s face. The younger man bit his lip at the sight of Clint’s cock in his hand. He surged forward, kissing Clint like his life depended on it. Well his sanity did, the jealousy hadn’t gone away. For a moment it was just lips and tongue and the pair of them grappled at each other. Hands in hair, over arms and clutching at waists. They remembered to close the door. Thankfully.   
A flash of triumph surged through Clint when he felt how hard Pietro was.   
“I told you,” Pietro gasped when Clint decided to suck at his neck. “I wanted you inside me the next time we were intimate.”   
“Fuck.” Clint groaned as he pushed Pietro back against the cubical door. “We don’t have anything.” Instead of the pout he thought he’d be answered with, Clint watched as Pietro suddenly smirked something wicked. “What?”   
“Why do you think I left the room so quickly?”   
“You mean you-?” Pietro nodded, biting his lip again. “Oh fuck me.”   
“Another time, maybe,” Pietro shrugged nonchalantly. His smugness was interrupted with Clint shoving his pants and underwear down to his knees.   
“Turn around,” Clint growled, slicking his cock with spit and pre-cum. Pietro did as he was told and leaned his arms against the door. His hips angled towards Clint. The latter pressed his fingers in and found that Pietro was well stretched and well lubricated. He’d said it before and he’d say it again, the kid was going to be the death of him. When Clint pushed the head of his cock in, he stilled.   
“Dammit old man,” Pietro groaned as he tried to push back further. Clint’s grip on his hips stopped that.   
“Hang on, dammit. I’ll come way to soon if you keep doing that.” Pietro grumbled something about old men again. “It’s your fault for groping me under the table.”   
“You didn’t stop me,” the speedster shot back with his forehead pressed against the door. Clint leaned forward so his front was pressed against the younger’s back his lips next to his ear.   
“No,” he replied with his voice dropping an octave. “I certainly didn’t.” He took Pietro in hand and started rubbing up and down before pushing all the way in. Pietro’s outcry ricocheted against the bathroom walls. Clint gave four or five shallow thrusts before changing the angle. When he thrust again, Pietro cursed in Sokovian at the feel of Clint’s cock against his prostate. Unfortunately, Pietro couldn’t see the wolfish grin on Clint’s face as he hit that spot over and over again.   
“Fuck,” Clint grunted as he came, still thrusting into Pietro with his hand rubbing his cock. The younger just gasped and gulped for air at the feeling of Clint spilling inside him and he was quick to follow. Damn his young age.   
It took them a while to come to their senses and a while longer for either to move. Neither of them had noticed that a young agent had heard the call of nature and went to the exact bathroom they were in. Needless to say, the agent had decided to ignore that call and the questions he got from his colleagues as to why he looked so scandalized. He said nothing.

Meanwhile, Steve had gone to see Tony and found the young Stark with his face buried in his hands. At first Steve didn’t know what to say. Thankfully Tony did.   
“I take it Barton told you all.” Steve nodded. So did Tony before he stood up and started pacing. Always needing to move when he felt cornered. “You know, I’m happy for her.”   
“Stark-”   
“I happy that she’s happy because she deserves to be. She’s amazing and talented and perfect and-”   
“Stark. It’s ok to be upset.” Tony scoffed and waved Steve off.   
“I’m not upset.”   
“You are. And I understand. I-”   
“You understand? Really?” The nonchalant had gone from Tony to be replaced by a scared desperation. Steve clenched his jaw and readied himself for whatever Stark was going to say. “I don’t think you understand even one iota about how I feel.”   
“How do you think I felt when I found out Peggy had married?”   
“No! No that’s absolutely different and you know that. She was the one who got left behind and had to move on while you were frozen! I have to stand here and watch while Pepper trances off with some other guy and I’m left here alone and-”   
Steve had had enough by the time Tony had said that Peggy was the one to be left behind. Tony was so busy with his speech that he didn’t notice Steve stalking over to him. The first moment, Tony was still talking. The next… Steve grabbed Tony’s face in his hands and pressed a brutal kiss against his lips. Tony’s stubble scratched at Steve’s face and urged him on for more. Tony was still while Steve kissed him. When the Captain pulled back, he couldn’t make eye contact and decided to leave.   
Tony was alone again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel dirty.   
> I get so uncomfortable when writing sex scenes and I've never done a same-sex sex scene before so cut me some slack and a bit of cake because I need it!   
> So yeah I hoped that was fine enough for you perverts out there ;P   
> And the story line picks up in the next chapter. 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Hawksilver with a few lines towards the actual plot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could come up with heaps of excuses as to why I haven't updated in forever.   
> (The main one being that I had to do the final chapter of another story which I had to put all of my concentration and effort in to and I re-wrote the damn thing so many times but now that's done and this is the only story I've got going so yay for that.)   
> Or we could just get on with the story.  
> Sounds good? 
> 
> Enjoy :)

When Clint woke up, he was a little too warm. Even when he realized that he had no clothes on and the blanket had been strewn clumsily across his hips. When the archer tried to roll onto his back, however, he found the reason why he was so warm when it groaned from behind him.   
Pietro had pressed himself right up against Clint’s back with his leg between the archer’s. Half of Pietro’s face was covered in his hair.   
“Get off, you’re too heavy,” Clint complained as he pushed Pietro over on his back. The kid gave a pitiful whimper. Still yet to open his eyes, Pietro didn’t see how Clint was just simply looking at him. The archer had too much pride to ever admit that he thoroughly enjoyed looking at the speedster and how his heartrate picked up. There were definitely no butterflies in his stomach. Fuck no.   
“How are you feeling?” asked Clint, running his knuckles across Pietro’s stomach.   
“My hips and arse ache,” the speedster replied with a groan. Clint felt a little bad. But the kid had been enjoying it at the time.   
“That’s what you get for fucking three times in one night.”   
“Four, old man. It was four times.” Clint chuckled and closed his eyes.   
“Yeah but you came plenty more times than that.” Clint didn’t see but he could feel Pietro rolling onto his side. The Sokovian leaned on his elbow and looked down at the archer with a lopsided grin. Feeling more awake now, he started pressing kisses to Clint’s torso. The latter hummed at the feeling and particularly enjoyed the feel of Pietro’s hair trailing down his chest. Greedily, Pietro dragged his open mouth kisses lower and lower. He felt empowered when he saw Clint tighten his grip on the sheets out the corner of his eyes. When Pietro got to Clint’s right hipbone, there was a loud knock at the door. Both of them startled and Clint ended up kneeing Pietro in the side. The speedster hissed while the archer dragged some of the blanket to cover himself. And just in time for Thor to burst in wearing his battle gear.   
“Good morning Barton, Maximoff.” He declared in his booming voice. The thunder god didn’t seem fazed in the least.   
“Morning, Thor. What the hell are you doing here?” Clint asked, keeping the sheet around his waist. Pietro had put boxers on some time in the night so he was indecent in then.   
“I must talk to you, Barton.”   
“I’m kind of naked here.”   
“No matter. The male form is nothing to be ashamed of comrade. But I insist I talk to you.” With a sigh, Clint looked to Pietro who was already looking at him. “Privately,” Thor added.   
“Its fine, Pietro’s one of ours. He can-”   
“It is about my brother.” Thor’s face changed from friendly to serious in that instant and Clint’s face dropped. Something mean burned in his veins at the mention of that damn trickster bastard. Clint’s anger was not lost on Pietro who wanted to ease it out of the archer. But by the tension in Clint’s posture, the speedster knew not to try.   
“I’ll put my pants on and I’ll meet you in the hallway.” Thor nodded and left after giving the pair a smile. Clint rolled out of bed and went about finding his pants.   
“What is it about his brother that you don’t want me to know?” Pietro asked, trying and failing to hide the hurt in his voice.   
“I’ll tell you when I’m ready. Promise.” He tacked on the last part when Pietro pouted. Clint leaned down and kissed Pietro strongly but firmly. “Just let me deal with a few things first.” Pietro nodded with a sigh and flopped back onto the bed. He watched as the archer padded around naked in search of his pants.   
“They’re by the bathroom door?” He could hear Clint grumbling about how it was possible that they ended up there. A positively sly smile crept across Pietro’s lips at the memory of him dragging Clint’s pants off and throwing them elsewhere. What followed after that really had Pietro smiling. By the time he managed to pull himself from his thoughts, Clint was already at the door.   
“Remember you have training with Cap in an hour. You’d better not be late,” the archer reminded him before closing the door behind himself. Huffing, Pietro rolled over and went back to sleep. He did his best to bite down on the gut feeling that had him uneasy.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Clint asked when he joined Thor who was waiting patiently in the hallway. They both started walking towards the training area without saying so.   
“Something troubles me about Loki’s appearance here on Midgard. Especially since you were the first he made contact with.” Thor answered ominously.   
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?”   
“It means I fear that Loki has plans for you. Unfinished business. He is not one to share his toys and you were a valuable piece for him to use back in New York. He will most likely target you since he has used you before and it worked last time. And the fact that we are all going to be keeping an eye on you just for that fact alone.”   
“But why me? He used almost a hundred people last time.”   
“Indeed, but not all of them were Avengers. I have sent word to Erik Selvig and he has taken Jane and the others into hiding.” Clint clenched his fists in frustration.   
“So I’m meant to go hide with my tail between my legs? Is that it?”   
“I would not ask it of you. And Agent Romanov threatened us all if we were to make such a suggestion.” Good on Nat.   
“So I just have to be careful not to get caught or be by myself in case your nutcase brother tries to jump me again.”   
“Sure?” Thor drawled, not really understanding the Midgardian expression. “But I do not think that you being by yourself will be an issue.” Thor carried on when Clint looked at him questioningly. “The Maximoff twins are both very fond of you. Pietro more so. And Wanda cares about you both so I believe me when I say that they will jump at the chance to protect you.”   
“I don’t need protecting,” Clint murmured, his pride hurting a little. The Asgardian laughed loudly like you’d imagine a bear would, and clapped the archer on the back.   
“Of course not. But you must endure it for their sake.” And Clint really couldn’t disagree with that. When Clint and Thor arrived at the training room, Cap was already there. He was sweating, which would mean at least two hours of training, and punching the life out of his third punching bag.   
“Something seems to be upsetting him,” Thor pointed out quietly so Cap can’t hear.   
“Twenty bucks that something starts with ‘T’ and ends with ‘-ony Stark.” Thor pulled a twenty dollar note from his pocket because why the hell wouldn’t the god of thunder carry around twenty dollars in his armour pants pocket?   
“Steven,” Thor called once the transaction was made. Cap flinched a little at the sound but managed a nod towards them. He then bent over, out of breath and sweating heavily. Cap hadn’t noticed how long and intensely he had been training.   
“What time is it?” Asked Cap once his breath was back.   
“About eight.” Answered Clint. “What time did you start?”   
“Around six.” Clint whistled his amazement while Thor went over to retrieve Steve’s water bottle. When he got it, Steve drank the entire thing in seconds.   
“Perhaps now is a good time for you to rest,” suggested Thor with a clap on Steve’s shoulder.   
“It most certainly is,” a new voice called from behind. The three men turned to see Fury striding in, wearing his usual black outfit. Clint had always wanted to see him wearing something like a light green just so he could see Fury wearing something like that. Nat did too as a matter of fact.   
“Director?” Clint questioned as the blondes narrowed their eye at Fury.   
“We’ve got another hit on Banner. And after what happened the first time with the robots and the second with Loki, I’m not taking any chances.”   
“You want the entire team to go?”   
“I do, Rogers. Can you get them all ready in an hour?”   
“I can do better.” Fury nodded and strode back out of the room. Steve was suddenly emitting his ‘Captain Rogers’ vibe. “Thor, go get Vision and Stark. Clint, I need you to get the twins. I’ll get Natasha and Sam.” Both Clint and Thor ignored the tightening of Steve’s jaw at Stark’s name.   
“Will do, Cap.” Obeyed Clint before they all left the training areas and went their own way.   
Clint decided to wake Wanda up first since she’d be easier. When he knocked, she opened the door several seconds later.   
“Morning,” she greeted with bed hair and tired eyes. Wanda was still in her light red pyjama pants and black singlet.   
“Good, you’re up. We need to leave in less than an hour.” Wanda stared at the archer for a moment with those big eyes of hers.   
“They think they’ve found Banner again?” Something cold crept up the back of Clint’s neck at that.   
“Yeah,” he bit out. “We’re all going since Loki is now a piece in all of this.” Wanda nodded with something like determination in her eyes. Thor’s comment on the Maximoffs wanting to protect him came to mind. “Be ready soon ok?”   
“Ok,” she answered and closed the door once Clint had turned to leave. Waking Pietro up was another matter entirely.   
“Get up!” Clint grunted, trying to drag the blanket off of the bed. The damn thing was twisted around Pietro’s waist. He’d told the speedster about why they needed to get up but the kid just groaned and turned away. When Clint came back after getting dressed himself, Pietro hadn’t moved. “Seriously, Maximoff. We have no time for this.”   
One minute, Clint’s hands were grabbing at the sheet, the next he was on top of it. Pietro gazed down at him lustfully with his bottom lip between his teeth. The Sokovian’s hands held the archer’s wrists by his head while his knees caged Clint’s hips.   
“I can get ready far faster than you, old man.” Pietro hummed while Clint rolled his eyes at being called an old man for the umpteenth time. They really needed to get ready but Pietro had other ideas. Slowly, Pietro lowered himself so he was straddling Clint’s waist and started to grind back and forth.   
“Dammit Pietro,” Clint grounded out, trying very hard to keep his breathing level. “We don’t have time for this.” In response, Pietro leaned down and brushed the lip of his nose against Clint’s before leaning down more to kiss at Clint’s jaw. Before Clint could argue, Pietro picked up his pace and started grinding with a passion. Through his pants, Clint could feel Pietro hardening underneath those ridiculous boxers. Knowing a lost battle when he saw one, the archer gave in and bucked his hips in time with the speedsters. Pietro moaned loudly in Clint’s ear and tightened his grip on the wrists he held.   
“Fuck it, kiss me!” Clint ordered as he tried to nuzzle the side of Pietro’s face. He didn’t mind the stubble, especially when it was rubbing against his chin and cheek when Pietro starting kissing him something fierce. “What? You’re going to make me come in my pants like some kid?” The grin Pietro gave him suggested so. But then Pietro’s hands let go of Clint’s wrists so he could fumble with the button and zip. Clint lifted his hips so the speedster could pull his pants and underwear down to his thighs, his hard-on finally free. Pietro really couldn’t help rubbing it a few times after noticing that Clint wasn’t as hard as him. Stupid fact of being younger! Pulling his boxers off and chucking them away, Pietro lined his own cock with Clint’s and took both of them in hand. He was rewarded with Clint throwing his head back with a hearty groan. The speedster leaned down to suck at Clint’s Adams apple while his hand began moving up and down.   
“Oh fuck, yes. Dammit yes.” Clint growled as his hands tangled into Pietro’s hair.   
“You like that?” Pietro smirked, moving his hand faster and twisting his wrist just so. It wasn’t long until Clint gave in and wrapped his around Pietro’s and they both started thrusting into their hands. Pietro came first with a loud moan and a scrunched up face. He’d made sure to pull the corner of the blanket over Clint’s torso so the archer’s vest wouldn’t be stained. Clint grabbed the speedster by the back of the neck to give him a brutal kiss. His tongue pushed Pietro’s mouth open and he was in the middle of licking the roof of Pietro’s mouth when he came.   
They both laid there gasping before Clint righted himself and his clothing. Getting up with a groan, he gave Pietro a jab to the ribs before standing up.   
“Now go get ready or you’ll have Cap on your case. And I’m pretty-” Clint was cut off by a kiss from Pietro who then sped off to the bathroom. Clint stood there for a moment before smirking.   
When the pair of them got to the others, Wanda gave her brother an unimpressed look while Nat just raised an eyebrow at Clint. Clint in turn looked at Steve (who was talking to Sam) and then to Tony (who had his back to Steve and was talking to Thor) and then back to Nat with a raised eyebrow. Nat then looked between those two before narrowing her eyes. Something had happened between them and the two agents were totally going to find out what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't mean to have so much Hawksilver.   
> They were meant to have already gotten to where Bruce is supposedly and a few other things.   
> But then Clint and Pietro happened and I wrote smut for this chapter so now my plan is a little askew.   
> But hey, we'll manage.   
> I want to thank you guys for being patient since my schedule is literally non-existent!   
> Please don't hate me for it!!!   
> Oh and as for any mistakes for the entirety of the story, I'm doing this all un-beta'd because I have no idea how to get a beta reader or how that will work so this is all solo guys! I'm pretty sure I've changed tenses in this so whoopsies :/  
> But oh well.
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go off to find Banner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to say this now that I do love this Banner, but since this is primarily in Clint's view, then it might not seem like I do at times.  
> It took a wee while to write this because I was stuck between two options that I'll explain more after.  
> Thanks once again you guys for the support!! 
> 
> Enjoy :)

The ride in the Quinjet would have been fine if everyone hadn’t been trying their hardest to ignore the fact that Cap and Stark were trying their hardest to ignore each other. And Natasha and Clint would have been ok if they could talk about why that might be. But the twins had moved fast and had managed to sit either side of Clint. Thor gave the archer a knowing smirk before turning back to Sam and Vision. Really, the twins were acting like children.  
They were flying to Germany because that was where the signal said Banner would be. Stark, Cap, Nat, Clint and Thor all had a bad feeling about it since that was where Loki showed up before New York. And at that thought, Clint felt very ok with the twins keeping close to him. If only so he knew where they both were; safe with him.  
Stark was flying the Quinjet and had his music playing quietly while Steve kept his eyes on the screen in front of him. Clint so badly wanted to know what was going on but now wasn’t the time. And Pietro’s hand on his knee kind of stopped him from moving. Wanting something as a distraction, Clint did his best to ‘push’ his mind to Wanda’s. He tried to envision it but really how would someone do that? Thankfully Wanda’s close proximity helped her in noticing Clint’s inner turmoil.  
“ _What is it?_ ” She asked, her voice echoing inside Clint’s mind. Wanda could feel his unease and gently took his hand. Obviously Pietro saw but didn’t comment; he just squeezed Clint’s knee tighter.  
“ _I was wondering if you could look into Cap or Tony’s minds._ ”  
“ _And why would I do that?_ ”  
“ _I need you to find something for me._ ”  
“ _Find what?_ ” Out of the corner of his eye Clint could see her brow rise.  
“ _I need you to find out what’s got them both so on edge with each other. For the good of the team_.” There was a pause before Wanda answered.  
“ _Steve kissed Stark. I won’t look further than that_.” The archer nodded and squeezed Wanda’s hand in thanks. His head suddenly felt very empty but he was absolutely ok with that. Resigning himself to a very uneventful flight, Clint rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. A few moments later, he felt two heads rest on his shoulders, one right after the other. The affectionate smirk on his face matched the ones on the others’ faces who looked at the display of the tired trio and carried on quietly.

When they landed, Clint felt stiff and   had to shake the twins off of him. There was a small ache in his neck that went away in good time. He stuck close to the twins; they wanted to keep him safe and vice versa. But most of Clint’s attention went to Nat who was very closed off. Just like she had been when they first met. To be fair he had an arrow to her head and she was trapped.  
Pietro, for his part, was stubborn enough to ignore that as long as Clint was by him. His pride wouldn’t allow him to admit that he felt giddily happy when the archer showed no sign of leaving. Wanda too, though Pietro caught his sister glancing at Captain America and Stark. She would tell him soon enough.  
“Alright team,” Cap announced once out of the Quinjet. “The signal says that Banner is close. Stick together and tread carefully, we don’t want any more surprises.” Clint ignored the others glancing at him by walking over to Natasha. It wasn’t a surprise that Pietro took a few steps but kept his distance. Wanda stayed by her brother’s side, her hand holding his. What was a surprise was Vision coming to stand next to her. It was weird, the way that everyone gravitated towards and away from each other. For example, where Cap was at the front of the group with Thor, Stark was trailing at the back with Barton and Romanov. The twins, Vision and Sam walked in between.  
Cap led them towards the city and to an apartment building.  
“Why the hell would he be here?” Clint murmured.  
“Well Banner hates cities and is kind of scared of them.” Tony pointed out, his head craning back to take in the tall building. “It’d be the last place we’d expect him.”  
“Loki is fond of cities, though. Keep that in mind.” Added Thor.  
“Let’s get inside,” ordered Cap quickly. “We’re starting to draw a crowd.” Around them, people on the street were staring and pointing. Only a couple had managed to get their phones out before the group went inside.  
“Maybe we should’ve parked on the roof,” Sam suggested to Cap as they walked to the elevator. When they all piled in one, the elevator dinged and the ‘exceeding weight’ alarm went off.  
“We’ll have to take two.” Natasha stated, looking around at the others. “Vision and Sam, you go with Cap and Stark in the other one.”  
Cap opened his mouth to protest but Natasha cut him off.  
“Loki may be after Clint and Thor’s the best one to deal with him if it’s not Banner. And the twins and I aren’t letting Clint out of our sight.” Said archer ducked his head a little when the others looked at him. Cap tightened his jaw and nodded.  
“We’ll meet you up there.” And so the four of them got out while the others went up. When the doors closed, Natasha and Clint sighed from the tension that radiated between Stark and Rogers.  
“We are shoving Tony and Steve into a closet,” Clint sighed.  
“We can use Mjolnir as a door stop to lock them in.” Thor said with a cheerful grin though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Pietro leaned towards Wanda and asked her in Sokovian what it was that the others were going on about. When she told him, his eyes widened.  
“Oh, that makes sense.” Pietro said as if everything in the universe suddenly clicked and made perfect sense. Clint shot him an amused smile and nudged him with his shoulder. When the elevator doors opened on the eighth floor (Wanda had checked), everyone stepped out except Natasha.  
“Nat?” Clint asked, instantly noticing her hesitation. Everything about her was closed off. From the tension in her shoulders to the clenched fists. But Clint saw, in Nat’s eyes, they underlying panic.  
“Agent Romanov,” he snapped. “We have a mission to complete. Let’s go.” The others flinched but Natasha just nodded and followed. She didn’t need coddling. She wasn’t a child. Natasha was an agent and didn’t need Clint holding her hand.  
Making their way down the hall, the other’s elevator finally came and they caught up, standing outside the supposed room that Banner was signaled to be in. Thor was first at the door with the twins pulling Clint nearer the back. Loki there or not, they weren’t risking it. And Clint wasn’t risking their safety either. Thankfully Natasha was close enough that if it was Banner, then the archer could grab her before she beat the shit out of that damn scientist bastard. When Thor knocked, it became very quiet in the now crowded hallway. Even more so when there were footsteps from inside.  
The door was pulled open and on the other side stood a very startled and guilty looking Banner. Now Clint had been expecting several things like maybe shock, a slammed door or a scream. He didn’t expect Banner to sigh and run his hand over his face before stepping back with the door wide open.  
“It was only a matter of time,” Bruce said tiredly. “You can come in if you want.”  
Obviously Thor went in first but with a friendly smile and a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. Really, they didn’t understand how much that small gesture meant to the scientist. Steve went in next with a friendly nod, much like Sam who followed straight after. Vision walked in next without much of a greeting but hey, who really expected him to? Stark was next and he stopped for a moment to put his hand on Bruce’s shoulder and squeezed. Science bros at it again.  
Clint wasn’t at all surprised when Nat just turned on her heel and stalked back down the hallway. There was something heavier to Bruce’s tiredness as he watched her go. Clint looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.  
“I’ll go talk to her,” he said.  
“Thank you,” Banner replied with a weak smile.  
“It’s good to see you by the way.” When Clint started to follow after Natasha, Wanda grabbed his arm with a pleading and incredulous look. “Not this time guys, just let me do this.”  
It was Pietro who removed Wanda’s hand before looking at Clint with complete trust. And yes, Clint’s heart jumped at that. He turned and followed after his friend to the other end of the hall where there was a small balcony. Once outside, the archer crossed his arms and waited for Natasha to talk. When she did, it was with her looking out over the city.  
“It didn’t hurt,” stated Romanov. “I thought it was going to hurt seeing him again. But… I don’t feel anything. Is that bad?”  
“Maybe it hasn’t sunken in yet.” Barton suggested with a shrug of his shoulders. “You might need to talk to him first to get some kind of feeling.”  
“Do I have to?”  
“Tasha,” Clint warned using the voice he would use when either his niece or nephew had done something bad. “You can’t run away from this. We’re not children.”  
“I never was a child; only small.”  
“Yeah well, that only means that you should know better.” Clint gave in and went over to stand next to Natasha. “You’re still going to need to talk to him. You are in the same team.”  
“That is if he comes back with us.”  
“Stark will make sure.”  
“Really?” Nat asked with an arched eyebrow. “I’d think he’d be too busy with avoiding Steve.” Clint knew that Natasha was changing topic but he was more than happy to go along with it.  
“Steve kissed Stark. That’s all Wanda would tell Me.”  
“So why the unease? Doesn’t Steve realize that Tony’s been staring at him kind of like when Pietro stared at you? But with more subtlety.”  
“Apparently not. And you gotta remember that Cap’s from a time where homosexuals weren’t ok and in the army where you’d be kicked out if you were gay.”  
“So you’re saying that Steve is internally shooting himself for liking Stark?” Clint shrugged his shoulders. That sort of knowledge just wasn’t worth the satisfaction of knowing.  
“All I know is that their UST is going to blow up in our faces if they don’t get it sorted soon.”  
“I’m just glad that Wanda isn’t too fond of either of them. We almost lost you when you were dancing round your feelings for Pietro.”  
“I’m amazed that you haven’t threatened him already.” Natasha smirked at that.  
“Who said I haven’t?” She remembered fondly how she’d cornered the speedster at the dinner table, sat opposite him with a pleasant smile. The Black Widow especially enjoyed how the kid’s face paled at her threat of disembowelment and loss of appendages, not to mention poisoning and psychological torment (she went into full detail about that) if Pietro were to ever hurt Clint. Or die on them again.  
“I don’t like that look and I don’t want you freaking the kid out.” Clint said with a finality to his tone. A small, slightly sad yet fond smile crept across Nat’s mouth.  
“You love him.”  
Out of the corner of her eye, Natasha watched as Clint’s expression went from surprise, to denial, to annoyance, to thoughtful and finally to reservedly happy.  
“Yeah, I guess I do.” Nat patted Clint on the shoulder before his face fell into serious. “But I don’t think you love Bruce. Not like before.” There was a moment when Clint genuinely though she was going to run away. When she didn’t, he waited for her reply.  
“I felt lost and out of place. Ever since New York. And there was Bruce, so unlike the rest of the people we’ve been around. Someone who’d rather keep the peace by being peaceful while I’d be shooting people down. And a part of me has always wanted that life. And maybe he was a short cut to that. Or an escape route. But no matter how kind and dorky he was, I don’t think I could follow. Not now anyways.”  
“And are you going to tell him that?”  
“I don’t know.”  
“Well, as long as you two both know that you’re not monsters then it’ll be alright.” The two smiled at each other so much so that anyone other than them would think they weren’t. The thought to hugging Natasha just entered his mind before Sam came racing down the hallway.  
“Wilson, what’s going on?” Natasha asked when Sam got to them. He was looking pissed off and worried.  
“The twins-”  
Clint was off down the hallway at that word. When he got to Banner’s room, everyone was standing up and looking at him. Steve, Tony, Vision, Thor and Banner were there.  
“Where are they?” Clint demanded, suddenly his mind zeroing in on the fact that Wanda and Pietro weren’t there. Everyone else was except Wanda and Pietro. Both of them. The twins. Wanda and Pietro. Wanda. Pietro. Pietro, Pietro _, Pietro…_  
“Barton.” Steve called, snapping Clint back to his sense. He hadn’t realized that he was panicking and was shaking. Without thought, the archer’s hands had gone to the doorframe and had held them so tightly that the wood was starting to crack.  
“Clint?” Natasha asked, finally caught up. Sam held her back when he saw how wrecked Clint was. Steve walked over and grabbed Clint’s shoulders firmly with a little shake.  
“We’ll find them. Banner has a way of tracking Loki. We find Loki, we find the twins. Do you understand?”  
Clint nodded because he didn’t trust the strength of his own voice. God, he wanted to scream. Rip something apart and hurl it far away. He wanted to burn the tear everything down till he found Pietro and had him. That fucking kid was really going to be the death of him. But goddamn what a death it could be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ain't even sorry about this cliffhanger.  
> But Loki is coming in next chapter so yay for that!  
> And a bit more of a hint towards Stony because I ship them, always have done, and even in a story not about them I will have Stony as a part of it. I DO WHAT I WANT!!! (as long as it doesn't hurt others c: )  
> Ok so the decision I was caught between was the Bruce/Natasha because after reflecting on that relationship, I just don't like it as much as I thought I did. It kind of seemed forced to me. But if you ship them then that's ok and sorry for not shipping them in this. It just didn't feel right.  
> But anyways, lots to come and more plot to unfold so, again, yay for that! 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	14. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to find the trickster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll chat to you after :)   
> And sorry for the wait!!! 
> 
> Enjoy :)

They took Bruce back to the Quinjet (though Vision had stated that he was going to head back to the Avengers HQ) where he and Tony started traces and tracking and other things that Clint didn’t understand. They all wanted to console him but they knew that Clint wasn’t an idiot and that words weren’t going to help. But they also wanted him to stop pacing like some murderous cat. Natasha was the only one brave enough to approach him but even she didn’t try.   
_God!_ Clint wanted to scream and punch things and all that jazz. Waiting just wasn’t enough but it was the only thing he could do. It was even worse when Bruce and Tony had found Loki because even though they were nearing him, Clint still had to sit and wait in the Quinjet.   
Thor wasn’t better off either. The thought of his brother once again causing havoc irked him. All Thor wanted was for Loki to come home and be by his side. But after what happened after his banishment, Thor had had to come to grips with the whole other side of Loki that he had ‘conveniently ignored’. He loved his brother, frost giant or not, homicidal maniac or not. The others just didn’t understand. They didn’t know Loki when he was young, running about the palace with Thor at his heels, sweets and cakes in their arms as they stole from banquets they weren’t yet old enough to attend. Those times were golden whenever Thor thought on them. When it was just him and his brother. When Loki’s mischief hadn’t yet crossed the threshold of sinister. When Thor thought that they would face the world together; side by side. But as years passed, they changed. Loki became like a moon; cold and always one half hidden. Thor was the sun; strong and raging bright. And it was known that the sun and moon would never stand side by side no matter how far Thor chased his brother.   
But once again, Loki was toying with his friends and Thor couldn’t allow it. He’d forgive him in a century or so when these comrades of his were long gone. But for now, Thor sat next to Barton who wore an identical scowl on his face while the force of nature that Thor was gifted with sang through his veins. They would find Loki and they would find the twins and Thor would drag Loki back home by the neck if he had to. And Mjolnir was more than happy to make that happen.

When Pietro woke up, everything was cold and dull. He couldn’t remember how he came to be asleep and cold and dull. Opening his eyes, Pietro found that he was in a dark, small room made of rough stone. The wall opposite him was just bars. Another cell.   
At his usual pace, Pietro was at the bars and trying to budge them. But budge they would not; not even when he tried vibrated them to loosen the stone.   
“Pietro?” He stopped, looking around in the darkness for that voice.   
“Wanda?” He called when he finally registered the panic in her voice. “Wanda, where are you?” Thankfully by then his eyes had adjusted to the dark and he was able to see her hand poke round from the side. She was in the cell next to his. The speedster dropped to his knees and took his sister’s hand in his, kissing her knuckles.   
“Are you alright?” She asked with a fierce grip.   
“I’m ok, nothing hurts. And you?”   
“My head aches. I’ve been trying to break the bars.”   
“How long have you been awake?”   
“Not long. But it’s hard to tell the time here.”   
“It’ll be ok,” Pietro promised. “The others will find us, I know it.”   
“I do too. I hardly doubt that Clint would give up on us, he loves you too much.”   
“And you,” the speedster amended, tightening his grip. “He loves you too.” Wanda smiled, though her brother couldn’t see, resting her head against the wall. She ran her thumb over Pietro’s knuckles gently. It was a comfort to both of them.

“What the Hel?!” Loki yelled as Thor grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him up. Clint already had his arrow trained on Loki’s left eye and Tony had his repulsors ready.   
They had found Loki in Paris at a small, nondescript art gallery that had very few people there. That time they had managed to get there without causing attention. Thor demanded that he be the one to lead and Steve wasn’t about to argue with the Norse god. Clint wanted to but Sam managed to remind him that Loki may or may not have been planning a trap for Clint.   
“Enough of your games, brother.” Thor growled. “Where are they?”   
“Who?” Loki spat as he clawed at Thor’s wrist. He would have said something far cleverer but lack of oxygen wasn’t allowing that. Thor tightened his grip.   
“The Maximoff twins you took this morning.” When Loki kept sputtering rather than talking, Thor let him down but didn’t let go.   
“I have no clue what you are on about, you boorish oaf.” The trickster gasped, slowly regaining his composure. “I have spent my time here. You are not the only thing to hold my attention, you know.”   
“Shut the fuck up!” Clint snapped. He was so tempted to let the arrow fly. “Where are they?!” Loki’s eyes darted to the archer and a sinister smile, all twisty at the corners, raked across his face.   
“Agent Barton,” he purred which only made Thor and Clint angrier. “Aren’t I glad to see you once more.”   
“Ok that’s enough of… whatever that is.” Interjected Tony. “Where are the twins?”   
“Who?” Loki’s expression softened into mock confusion when he turned to Stark.   
“Enough!” Thor roared before dragging Loki towards the entrance. “We are taking you with us. I am in no gaming mood.”   
The others stared after the two gods, so very different to each other, a little shocked and speechless. It was Steve who regained himself first.   
“We should probably follow them.”   
“Good idea, Cap.” Stark agreed without thought. He didn’t notice Steve’s little jump at that. They all headed towards the Quinjet and Clint was the first to the driver’s seat with Natasha close behind. Thor strapped his brother in and bound his hands with the cuffs he used when Loki was freed from prison to go after the dark elves. Loki said nothing whilst he glared at his brother. Steve and Sam talked lowly to each other while Bruce and Tony played chess on their on-board computer for the duration of the flight.   
Fury was quick to make his discomfort of Loki being there known. A few swears were thrown about which made Steve think of Bucky. But when the Captain informed Fury of the situation, the director simply nodded. He never stopped them taking the trickster to a holding cell which resembled that which they had for the Hulk on the Helicarrier. Bruce said nothing on that.   
With Loki in the cell, Clint went off to shoot arrows angrily with Sam and Natasha watching after him. Bruce immediately went to a room put aside for him and went about the experiments he had been working on in Germany. That left Thor, Steve and Tony to interrogate Loki.   
“Where are they?” Thor demanded once more, staring at his brother through the glass that was rigged to implode if hit with enough force along with electricity levels to rival his.   
“Really Thor, how many times must I say I know not before you realize that you are wasting your time?”   
“You are gifted with lies, brother. But I am not gifted with patience.” Already the anger was beginning to twist Thor’s gut into something cruel.   
“Maybe he doesn’t actually know,” Tony suggested with a shrug.   
“Or maybe he’s lying.” Steve countered.   
“Or maybe you’re wrong and we are wasting our time. Maybe there’s something he’s not telling us.”   
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve asked at Tony’s pointed look to him.   
“Oh you know exactly what I-”   
“Enough. You two have your lovers quarrel elsewhere. I will speak to my brother privately.” Tony opened his mouth to argue but Steve already had his hand on his arm and was dragging the billionaire out of the room. Steve could feel the electricity pulsing in the air and thought it best to go. When the door behind them slid closed, Loki chuckled.   
“Just couldn’t wait to get me alone, could you brother?”   
“Cease your trickery. Do you or do you not know the whereabouts of the Maximoff twins.” Loki’s grin fell and he shook his head.   
“No, I don’t. Is that all?”   
“No. I wish to know what it is that you want from Barton.” At that, Loki’s eyebrows arched in amused confusion. He walked from the middle of the cell up to the glass right in front of his brother. He couldn’t help but lean forward a little.   
“Jealous, brother?” Thor didn’t deem that with a response but Loki saw how his fingers dug into the muscles on his arms. Really, Thor was such an open book with his emotions dictating him. “He has heart, more so than the rest of you. And I want to tear it apart.”   
“Is that all you wish for, little brother? Destruction and chaos?”   
“I am not your brother.” Loki hissed when he saw Thor’s pained expression. “And what I really wish is to see you fall. All that reigning glory and strength crumble like the sands of time. I wish to burn your heart until there’s nothing left and you are as bitter and pained as I am.” For a moment, Thor just stared at his brother. His face a mask Loki couldn’t read and it irked him terribly.   
“You do that every time you say we are not brothers,” Thor answered quietly. Loki flinched back and snared at his brother.   
“Really now, Thor. We’re too old to be sentimental. And too much blood has been spilt between us. Accept that and move on.” The fury and hatred left Loki’s voice quickly to be replaced with sarcastic whit. So much like how he used to be. “Go away, you’re boring and I cannot hit you so that’s just annoying.”   
“Not until you tell me what you want with Barton.” Loki sighed and rolled his eyes at that.   
“Bring Barton here and I’ll tell him why I’m here. That was your next question wasn’t it?”   
“How did you-”   
“It’s insulting of you to think that I couldn’t figure that out. You’re an idiot, Thor. And quite a readable one at that.” Loki turned away from his brother but not before he saw the small smirk on Thor’s lips. Unfortunately for Thor and luckily for Loki, the former did not see the latter’s matching smirk. Though reluctant, Thor still went to fetch Clint who was not entirely happy to see Loki but curiosity got the better of him. He started to hate that damned curiosity when he stood in front of the trickster.   
“What do you want?”   
“It’s good to see you too, Agent Barton. And after how much fun we had the last time.” All Clint did in response was glare. “You still have that heart, I see. Though you appear to have given some of it to that young man from before. You do know doing that will only get you hurt.”   
“What do you want?” The archer ground out.   
“I need your help.”   
“Like fuck am I helping you.”   
“But you were so willing to help me last time.” Clint growled and did an about-turn. He started to leave the room when Loki called out.   
“I may not know where your dear twins are, but I know who has them.” That stopped Clint in his tracks but did not sway him to turn around. “He has things we both want and I intend on taking back what’s mine. I have means of tracking him but no way of stopping him. I will be willing to give up the information.”   
“And I take it you won’t be telling us freely just for brownie points?” Clint reluctantly turned at Loki’s dark chuckle.   
“How much do you want that boy back?” Questioned Loki with a wicked grin.   
“What do you want?” For a moment Loki just stood there. Clint finally got the hint and stepped forward so he was a few centimetres from the glass.   
“I want you, Agent Barton, to kiss me.”   
They stood there staring at each other. Loki anxiously waiting for the archer to squirm and sputter while Clint’s head had gone momentarily blank.   
“Fuck off,” Clint sighed and promptly left the room. He went in search of the others who he found in the training room. He heard the noises long before he got in. Gunshots and shouting. Clint ran down the hall and into the large room to find Tony in his suit blasting all over the place while Natasha and Sam were firing their guns.   
“Woah, hey! What the hell?” Clint yelled over the noise. Then, he felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and a body pressed against his back. Everyone then aimed their guns at Clint.   
“Oh thank god you’re here!” The person behind them said. And in that moment, Clint was about ready to murder someone.   
“Deadpool! What the fuck are you doing here?”   
“Let Clint go.” Natasha snapped.   
“Ah I’m going for the ‘no’ option.” Deadpool called over Clint’s shoulder before talking to the archer. “I don’t really feel like getting shot even though I can’t really be killed with a couple of bullets. Man, you make for a wonderful shield. Hey Captain, you should really be using this guy and give the Australian’s back their boomerang.” Cap scowled while Tony did his best to supress his giggle inside his armour. Thor just sighed and lowered Mjolnir slightly but Natasha and Sam didn’t lower their weapons.   
“Ok,” Clint said with his hands raised. “How about we all just put the guns and shit down. I don’t want his hands on me any longer than necessary and there really is not point in shooting him.”   
“Truer words have never been spoken, friend.” Clint rolled his eyes at the cheerful tone in Deadpool’s voice. When everyone lowered their weapons, Deadpool let go of Clint but slung his arm over the archer’s shoulder. Clint didn’t even bother trying to shrug it off.   
“What is it my brother wanted?” Thor asked.   
“Well that’s what I came here to talk about before you all had your guns aimed at Me.”   
“Same here,” said Deadpool. “I just came here to chat and-” Natasha fired her gun and the bullet hit Deadpool straight in the gut which had him keeling over and dragging Clint down with him. She was so done with his bullshit. But Deadpool wasn’t finished. He pulled Clint’s face closer and said with a dramatic whisper-   
“No guts, no glory.”   
Everyone groaned and Clint finally shoved the merc off of him. The merc the proceeded to ‘die’ like a first year drama student.   
“I’ll deal with him you guys go talk about our other problem,” Sam announced with a sigh. He knew that everyone else were at their wits end with Deadpool and he had to admit, he liked the merc’s sense of humour. Everyone else was quick to agree and left.   
As they were walking to another room to talk, Clint kept replaying Loki’s offer over and over in his head. There was no way he was kissing that freaking lunatic. But they _had_ to get the twins back. And Clint had said that he would do anything to find the twins. To find Pietro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I don't know why but it got very angsty with Loki and Thor :/   
> I do sort of ship the two Asgardians and I just want to know if you guys are ok with that. I don't mind either way.   
> And now you have Loki and Deadpool!   
> Who'da thunk it?   
> I'm not shipping Loki/Clint. Loki's just being a little shit as usual.   
> It's getting really hard to keep track of everyone. I almost forgot about Vision :O   
> But hey, we'll manage. 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint has to kiss Loki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyy it hasn't been a week :D Happy for that!  
> I told myself that I wasn't allowed to play Sims until I got this done, so guess what I'm off to do? ;)  
> I reckon we should just get straight to it as usual!! 
> 
> Enjoy :)

“He wants you to do what?!” Tony yelled. Clint had never seen the unflappable billionaire so surprised. Everyone sat around the table while Clint stood at the head. Vision was the only other to not take a seat. Even the sentient-robot was surprised.  
“He wants me to kiss him so he’ll tell us who has Pietro and Wanda.”  
“Then kiss him.” Vision said suddenly.  
“Hold on there,” Steve interrupted with a hand towards Vision. “Loki might actually have them and he’s messing with us.”  
“Or maybe he’s not.” Tony said.  
“Stark, I swear if you keep using that tone I’ll-”  
“That’s it!” Clint barked, all of his anxiety and frustration and fear making him snap. “You two bugger off and sort out whatever the hell is going on with you. I have to find Pietro and Wanda and I don’t have the time nor the patience to deal with you. And if you haven’t by the time we’ve found them then you guys can stay the fuck here.” Nat, Thor and Vision looked between the pissed off archer and the two startled men opposite him. Tony looked scandalized while Steve was sporting an impressive pout and undeniable blush. Reluctantly America’s golden boy stood up and gestured for America’s play boy to do the same. They shuffled out of the room without making eye contact with anyone. Clint sighed.  
“Well it was about time,” Nat commented. Tony and Steve’s departure just left Vision, Thor and Natasha to listen to Clint.  
“Do you believe that this Loki has the Maximoff twins?” Vision asked. It still weirded Clint out that he sounded like JARVIS. A couple times the archer had called him that rather than Vision.  
“Yeah, I think so.”  
“So then all you have to do is kiss him.”  
“Fuck no.” At Vision’s startled expression, Clint carried on to explain. “First off, I hate the guy with a burning passion. No offence Thor.”  
“None taken.”  
“And secondly, if Pietro ever found out, he’d be so mad he probably wouldn’t talk to me. And then Wanda would kick my ass into the next millennia.”  
“I think that if you were to explain the situation to Pietro, he would understand. And he would most likely direct his anger towards Loki.”  
“I agree,” Natasha added. Clint sighed and ran his hand over his face. God he really didn’t want to kiss Loki. Shoot him, hell yeah. But kiss? Fuck no.  
“I understand your resistance to kissing my brother.” Thor stated as he stood up to put a hand on Clint’s shoulder. “He is playing with you. Do not forget that. But we do need the information he possesses in order to find the twins.”  
“Yeah, and I know you’ve done worse for less.” Clint glared a shut-your-mouth-right-now-or-so-help-me-I-will-get-you look at Natasha who just smirked in response. After a moment of inner turmoil and frustration, Clint relented and agreed to Loki’s demands. But he wasn’t going to be happy about it.  
“Alright, let’s just get it over and done with so we can get our twins back.”

“So are we going to talk or are you going to keep walking away, Popsicle?” Tony asked as he followed Steve down an empty hallway.  
“What do you want from me?” Steve asked when he stopped and turned to look at Tony. The latter stopped only a step away and was dangerously close to Steve.  
“Well thank you for stopping, first off. And secondly, I want to know why you kissed me.” And then Steve did that jaw thing that made Tony a little warm under the collar. He knew that he had to play it careful lest Steve panic and rush off.  
“I don’t know why I kissed you.” Was Steve’s answer. Tony raised an eyebrow.  
“Really? Because I think I know.” In response, Steve furrowed his brow in both confusion and curiosity. Stark leaned as if it were a secret and the Captain couldn’t help but lean in a little too. “I think,” Stark began, eyes intent on the Captain’s mouth as they both slowly leaned in. “That you might like me the same way I like you.” Cap’s eyes widened for a split second before darting down to Tony’s mouth. They darkened as Steve found himself only a few centimetres from Stark. Steve could feel the shuddering breath that stuttered out of Tony’s mouth across his own and something clicked in Steve’s brain. Suddenly nothing else mattered. Anything that was happening was irrelevant unless it had something to do with kissing Tony Stark.  
“Stark,” Steve breathed out before leaning in. The very first, slightest touch of Tony’s slightly chapped but still soft lips against his own had Steve’s mind reeling. But then-  
“Oh goddammit. You two better not be having another fight.” Steve jerked back to turn and see Fury at the other end of the hallway, staring at both men with an unimpressed glare.  
“Of course not, Sir.” Steve was all soldier-esque again which pissed Tony off. So. Damn. Close.  
“Actually the opposite you interrupting sh-” Cap jabbed Tony in the gut at hearing his mumble. Fury looked at them for a moment longer before huffing and walking away.  
“Hurry up and find those twins,” he called once out of sight. Stark sighed and crossed his arms, thinking that the moment was over and far, far away. Damn Fury and his terrible, yet amazing if convenient, timing.  
“So you like me?” Steve asked which sounded so juvenile that Stark was a little startled.  
“Ah- yeah. I do.” Steve nodded though he still kept his soldier-esque stature about him. Before Tony knew what was happening, Steve grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him forward. The kiss literally took Tony’s breath away despite it being very quick and closed mouthed. It wasn’t the best as far as technique went but it was certainly the most exciting. When Cap pulled back, his soldier aura was a little ruined by the blush on his cheeks and the small smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.  
"Does this mean that we’ve sorted out whatever was going between us?” Tony asked and Steve nodded. “Oh thank god. I wanted to see Barton kissing Loki.” That put a proper smile on Steve’s face along with a small chuckle. They started walking down the hall towards Loki’s cell when Cap replied.  
“I was kind of wanting to see that too.”  
But what both men didn’t see was the young agent, the one who found Clint and Pietro in the bathroom, who had seen their little moment before scuttling off back to his desk with his head low. The poor guy was really debating on leaving to another branch if something like that happened again.

Barton didn’t want to do this. Like he really, _really_ didn’t want to do this. Make him wear clogs and walk around a mall in them? Sure, he’d love to. Make him sing all the songs from high school musical? Hand him the damn mic. Make him dress in drag and do the hula? Luau! But this? No.  
And what made it worse was that everyone was standing in front of Loki’s cell with him. And by everyone he meant Loki’s brother, his best friend, the weird robot who he wasn’t sure what the other really was, his own bird bro and the un-killable, pain in the ass merc with the motor mouth. Bruce was there too but he kept his distance from both Nat and Clint. That would be needing to sort that out soon.  
“I’m not doing it in front of him.” Clint stated with his glare aimed at said merc.  
“Aw come on! I brought popcorn!” Deadpool complained with a large bowl of popcorn in his arms. He offered some to Natasha who took some and shrugged at Clint’s betrayed look.  
“Did we miss it?” Tony called, bursting through the door with an amused looking Captain.  
“Oh goddamn you all!” Clint grumbled.  
“Ah, ah. Hold up.” Sam called, standing between the two new arrivals and the others. “Have you guys sorted out your issues with each other?”  
“More or less,” Steve answered.  
“Alright then.” Replied Sam who went back to standing next to Thor. The thunder god was glaring at his brother with something akin to hurt mixed with his fury. Loki, on his part, was watching the Midgardians with a humorous grin.  
“Why does everyone else have to be here?” Clint asked Natasha in a hushed voice though everyone did sort of hear it.  
“Just in case he tries to do something and hurt our most important member and favourite archer.” The sarcasm wasn’t even hidden in the least. But then Nat’s face went serious as she leaned in to whisper to him. “He didn’t specify what kind of kiss. Just make it quick.”  
Clint pulled back and nodded; happy with her help. As the cell doors opened once Clint was at them, Thor clenched his hammer tighter. Whatever tricks his silver-tongued brother was up to, Thor would stop them. He’d hurt enough of Thor’s friends.  
Loki stood as Clint approached him. The archer had the right of mind to keep his back to his teammates so they couldn’t see jack.  
“Let’s just get this over with,” Clint grumbled with a scowl to which Loki’s grin grew. The Asgardian stood with his hands behind his back, eyes closed and bent forward a little. Begrudgingly, Clint leaned forward, thinking all the curse words known to man in all the languages he knew, and pressed his mouth to Loki’s. Slowly, everything became hazy, the air around them felt more like fog. When Clint opened his eyes, the room had darkened so that he could only see Loki. Along the ground were illuminated clouds of mist swirling up to their knees.  
“What the hell is this?” Clint questioned, looking around them at the vast emptiness.  
“You really think that I would let you get away with such a simple kiss?” Loki’s voice had dropped an octave and seemed to wrap around the archer. Everything had slowed slightly, so when Clint turned to look at the Asgardian, it felt almost dreamlike. “I will give you the information,” stated Loki and Clint could see every fraction of Loki’s movements as the latter leaned closer. “If you kiss me like you mean it.”  
And for some reason, Clint wanted to. All thought ebbed from his mind as the prospect of kissing the god with a Cheshire grin burrowed itself inside. And then there was no space between them. The kiss began as a rough press which then turned actual kisses as Clint clutched at the nape of Loki’s neck and shoulder. Loki’s arms wound their way around Clint’s torso to pull them tightly together. The archer moaned and shuddered when the Asgardian slid his tongue along the other’s bottom lip before biting it. The kiss turned feverish as Clint licked into Loki’s mouth. Loki quickly pulled back so he could lick a line down to his jaw where he started pressing quick kisses to Clint’s neck.  
“Ah- Pietro-” Clint moaned before slamming to a halt. When Loki pulled back, after feeling Clint freeze up, he didn’t expect a fist to his jaw. The pain was enough for the trickster to lose his hold on the illusion. One moment Clint had his fist clenched and was staring at a startled, pained Loki. The next, he was back to kissing Loki like you would an older relative that you couldn’t really remember meeting before. He pulled back and grimaced at the sudden light.  
“What, that’s it?” Stark complained.  
“Yeah, show’s over!” Clint snapped back as he got away from Loki as quick as possible.  
"BOO!!!" Deadpool called out, throwing his popcorn over his shoulder. Thor stormed over to his brother and proceeded to grab his arm. Very tightly if Loki’s grimace was anything to go by.  
“So now you’re going to tell us who has the twins.” Bruce said, sounding agitated. Loki sighed but nodded.  
“Will you let me go, brother?”  
“No.” Loki wasn’t surprised by Thor’s response but didn’t argue. He then turned to address the others.  
“There is another Asgardian here. Well half Asgardian, half Kree. He works for Thanos and he wishes to eradicate earth’s ‘heroes’. This Asgardian-Kree aslo stole a tome from Asgard which holds old magic.”  
“And you want that tome to learn its secrets?”  
“It is mine, given to me by our mother Frigga.” Loki hissed, baring his teeth like a snarling cat. The information set Thor’s resolve. Something that had once been their mother’s, now Loki’s, was worth retrieving. And stopping an Asgardian-Kree hybrid was an added bonus.  
“Very well, brother. Show us his whereabouts and we shall stop him, retrieve your tome and get the twins back finally.”  
“Finally,” Clint repeated quietly to himself though Natasha still heard. The twins would be found and brought home. Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so our Clint really did kiss Loki. Yeah. But it was all so he could save the twins!!!  
> So I hope you liked this, I really enjoyed writing this chapter :D  
> And sorry (not really sorry) for the almost Stony kiss, but Fury just really has brilliant timing. But hey, they did kiss!  
> I reckon we should also give that poor agent who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time a name. He deserves that much.  
> What do you guys think?  
> Thanks so much once again!
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	16. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to find the twins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just didn't want to be written. And because of its disdain for existing, it tried to kill me. And almost did before I crawled back to my keyboard to finish it.  
> But here we are a week later!  
> Let's see how this goes, shall we?   
> Also, this is a little shorter than usual but not by much. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Alright, all of you go get your gear sorted.” Steve ordered. “Banner, are you with us?” Bruce looked nervously around the group with his hands playing nervously with his phone. When he looked at Natasha, he saw the small nod of hers.  
“Sure,” he replied to Steve who smiled.  
“Good. Thor, I trust you can take care of him?” Steve indicated to Loki who was still being held by Thor.  
“I can. Do not worry about him.”  
Loki tried very hard not to snigger at Thor’s glare. Clint was the first out of the room before the others had even turned. As they walked away, Thor could hear Deadpool asking to go along. It was Stark who said he could before Rogers had a chance. The thunder god then turned back to his brother.  
“Now, brother, how are you going to find this Asgardian-Kree?”  
“With this,” Loki answered, slowly bringing his hands up to his neck. Thor watched carefully as the trickster pulled a purple gem, held by a silver chain, from under his collar. It was a pretty necklace but it didn’t really answer his question. At Thor’s incredulous stare, Loki barked a small laugh.  
“How is a necklace meant to aid us in our search?”  
“Really brother, patience is a virtue you were never blessed with.” So Thor waited for him to explain. “It belongs to the Asgardian-Kree who has your twins. I’ll cast a simple tracking spell and we can be on our way.”  
“Why is it that I cannot trust you whole-heartedly?”  
“Apparently you’re not as foolish as you once were.” Loki’s tone took on a more serious note at Thor’s caution. “I want that tome back. That’s all there is to it.”  
“And kissing Agent Barton?” Loki’s grin crept back onto his face.  
“I just wanted to see how you’d react, dear brother.” Loki leaned in a little _too_ close, if anyone else was there to see them. But Thor was used to such behaviour and just shrugged it off. The others wouldn’t understand and he didn’t have the patience to explain to them what it was between Thor and his brother.  
“Tell me what you need and I’ll see it done.” He said, ignoring the heat under his collar at Loki’s close proximity.  
“I’ll start with a kiss, please.” Loki purred, tilting his head and leaning closer. Quickly, Thor pulled back slightly to kiss his brother on the nose with a proud smirk. Loki glared at his golden brother before rolling his eyes. But Thor still felt pleased with himself; Loki wasn’t the only one who could tease.

What Loki needed really wasn’t that hard to find once he explained the Midgardian names for them. Most of the stuff Tony already had and the rest was picked up by Clint and Sam. The archer really just wanted to get away from Deadpool and Loki. Plus, he was a few seconds away from shooting Stark in order to stop his teasing. While the birdbros were out, Natasha had a lovely chat with Tony about teasing Clint. Well, it being lovely depended on who you asked. And ‘chat’ was such an ambiguous word. Tony called it ‘threatening’ while Natasha stuck with ‘chat’. Steve stayed the hell out of that one.  
As soon as the necklace started to glow and swing a certain way, they all headed to the Quinjet with a quick word to Fury. The director just told them to return in one piece since getting new Avengers cost money.  
In the Quinjet, Clint was the first to the wheel for two reasons. First: he needed a distraction from the other bastards he call teammates, the merc with the mouth and that fucking bastard trickster. Secondly: he was so damn close to finding the twins and the others would have just gone too slow (they wouldn’t have but to Clint it would’ve felt like it).  
Thor sat his brother down next to him. Loki was wearing the heavy handcuffs Thor had used on him before so there really was no way he was getting out. Not that he wanted to. But he did find it annoying that Thor was busy chatting to the one called Vision. It meant that Loki had no one to talk to or annoy.  
Bruce and Tony were all over the gem that glowed and pointed in the (hopefully) correct direction. Bruce called out any changes Clint needed to make.  
Steve ended up discussing a plan with Natasha and Sam. But really they were in the dark about what to expect so their plan really came down to ‘just be ready for anything’. It wasn’t the best plan but it was all they had.  
“Hey tweedy bird, can I drive?” Deadpool asked, coming to crouch right next to Clint.  
“No.” He gritted out. He was trying really hard to stay calm.  
“Aw, come on. I’m a fantastic driver. Please o’ please o’ pleeeeeeease!”  
“No. No. No and no.”  
“Come on! I’ll get us there in no time.”  
“That’s what I’m doing.”  
“Is this because I told those guard guys that you were sitting in that tree that one time on that one mission where that one guy did that one thing that-”  
“Shut up or I am throwing you out of this jet.” Deadpool was quiet for a minute and it made Clint nervous. “What?”  
“You will find them, you know that right?” The sincerity in Deadpool’s voice startled Clint and he really couldn’t believe what the merc had just said. Before he could reply, however, Deadpool patted his shoulder before going over to Tony and Bruce where he started trying to poke the crystal. The two scientists weren’t amused.  
“What was that about?” Natasha asked, suddenly by Clint’s side.  
“Little to the left- quit touching it!” Tony called. Both assassins could hear the smack he gave Deadpool.  
“He wanted to drive, that’s all.” Clint replied.  
“And him wanting to drive is why you look so shaken?”  
“I’ve heard he’s a really bad driver.” Both of them chuckled but Nat knew that wasn’t the reason. Just like she knew that Clint wouldn’t tell her. There were lots of things they didn’t tell each other, to be honest.  
Loki’s crystal lead them a few kilometres south of Mt Narodnaya (*) in Russia. The weather outside was cold and the only ones affected by it were Clint, Bruce and Sam. Everyone else was either enhanced somehow or they were Tony in his suit and Natasha with her Russian blood.  
“Alright, let’s go find the Maximoffs.” Cap announced to the group.  
“Actually,” Loki began much to everyone’s chagrin. “This crystal only directs us to the Asgardian-Kree. Not your twins.” In that moment, Clint thought of every possible way he could kill Loki. It would have made him happy to know that Nat was thinking the same thing.  
“Hang on,” Tony announced with his mask still down. “There’s a door leading downwards over there while that crystal is point upwards.”  
“What’s your point, Stark?”  
“Well, Rogers, half of us go up and find the Asgardian guy and the others go down.” Steve thought for a moment before nodding.  
“Right. Barton, Romanov, Loki, Banner and I will go underground. The rest of you go up and keep in touch. Do not engage the enemy at all costs. Understand?”  
“Yes.” Thor said with that burning confidence of his. He turned to his brother with a tight grip on his arm. “Cause them trouble and I will have Heimdall take you back to Asgard without that tome. Do you understand?”  
“Perfectly,” Loki hissed, obviously not happy with the threat. The cuffs stopped him from doing much.  
“I don’t think you guys have noticed but ah- I can’t fly.” Deadpool commented.  
“Oh what a shame.” Tony said before taking off. Clint caught Cap’s small smile at that. Vision then stepped forward with his arms held out.  
“I will take you.” He stated simply before Deadpool jumped into his arms; bridal style.  
“Oh, yer my hero.” He said in a mock western voice. Instead of rolling his eyes like the others did, Vision looked to Clint.  
“Find them.” And then he was up in the air. Sam and Thor followed without a words and left the others on the ground.  
“Let’s go guys,” Steve said before taking the lead. Loki was made to walk next to Steve and Natasha since he unnerved Bruce and made Clint murderous. The door that Tony talked about looked like a large metal hanger door; hidden by the overgrowth. It only opened with Cap’s super soldier strength but did so with an old groan. Clint was the first in with an arrow at the ready. Natasha was at his side with her gun in hand. Steve let the assassins sneak in quietly while Loki, Banner and he stayed back. At first the inside was just a large stone tunnel before it became significantly smaller and broke off to the right. Around the corner was what looked like a cave tunnel more than anything. It didn’t stop either of them. They were already out the other end of the tunnel when Steve and the other two had made it in.  
“ _Anything?_ ” Steve asked over the earpieces.  
“There’s a flight of stairs and a corridor that doesn’t have anything. Clint and I are going up.”  
“ _Roger that._ ”  
“Come on,” Clint said to Natasha as he ascended the metal stairs. Natasha was right behind him and as quiet as a mouse. At the top, they came upon another corridor of stone. But this one curve so the end wasn’t in sight. Without any indication, the pair went the opposite direction of where the stairs were pointing with Natasha checking behind them. The corridor curved in the opposite direction too.  
“Cap, when you get to the top of the stairs, go forward. Clint and I have gone the other way.”  
“ _Alright. Stay alert._ ”  
“Roger that, Rogers.” Clint huffed at that but decided to save his snarky comment for another time. There was something tightening in Clint’s chest that he couldn’t explain. Every nerve in his body had become sharp as he took in his dark surroundings. His thoughts weren’t even tangible. And he knew why he was reacting that way. Hope. He hoped that the twins were somewhere around. Hoped that they were safe and ok and alive. Hoped that he could just see the idiot speedster again.  
Despite his confidence and statements about finding the twins, there was still a small seed of doubt. No matter how hard he tried to burn it, that seed sat there, mercilessly in the back of his mind. Natasha knew. She always knew. And even then, as they snuck their way through darkness, she knew.  
It was when they had walked far enough around the curve so that the stairs were no longer visible did Clint’s step make a noise. Just a small crunch on a small fleck on the stone floor. And something electric crawled up his back and wrapped itself along the nape of his neck. A little voice in his head whispered.  
“ _Clint?_ ” When the archer replied, it was out loud.  
“Wanda?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*) Anyone who is Russian and/or lives in Russia, if that mountain is not correct in any way, please let me know because I don't want to make an ass out of myself and offend you.  
> Other than that, I got nothing to say ;) 
> 
> See you in the next one :)  
> (hopefully I don't die before then)


	17. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint hears Wanda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have all been patient and kind and I don't think I can keep you waiting any longer. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

“WANDA!” Clint yelled, racing off down the hallway, ignoring Natasha calling after him.   
“Dammit,” she muttered before chasing after her friend. She’d report to Cap after she made sure that Clint hadn’t rushed into a trap.   
“ _A little further,_ ” Wanda’s voice in Clint’s head said. She sounded tired which only worsened his worry and panic. The hallway had become significantly darker so Clint kept his fingertips along the stone wall. When he came to a gap, he froze. A little farther and the gap became a cold, metal bar. Another one after that and then another and so on and so forth. Cells. Clint felt past two more before he heard Wanda speak again.   
“ _The next one._ ” By now the archer’s keen eyes had grown accustom to the light and he could see the cell bars. He rushed to the next one. And there, kneeling at the door with her hands holding the bars, was the Scarlet Witch.   
“Wanda,” Clint gasped, dropping to his knees and taking her hands in his own. “Oh god, baby girl. Are you ok?” Over the few months that Clint had taken care of Wanda, they’d formed a sort of father-daughter bond. He’d taken to calling her darling or baby girl while she’d call him Papa or just dad. But only when it was just the two of them.   
“Papa,” she sighed as Clint pressed his hand to her cheek. She looked tired. Like she had been there for weeks rather than days.   
“I’m gonna get you out of here, just wait a moment.” Clint reluctantly let go of Wanda and checked the lock. It was a basic of cell door that just required a key. “Get back,” he told Wanda as he pulled out one of his explosive arrows. By now Nat had caught up and waited. The explosion was small but enough to break the rock around the lock. The door slid open with a screech.   
Clint was quick to take Wanda into his arms and she hugged him back just as fiercely. He gave her a once over and deemed her fine.   
“Pietro?” He asked, the relief that he had felt at finding Wanda now replaced with concern for the speedster.   
“Just next door.” Clint nodded and kissed her on the forehead.   
“Thanks baby girl.” Wanda’s smile would have been sweeter if she weren’t so tired. Nat stepped in to take care of her while Clint went to the next cell. She’d already told Cap the situation.   
The second lock broke away as easily as the first. Clint had only just managed to get the door open before the breath was knocked out of him. A flash of blue one moment and strong arms wrapped around him the next.   
“Pietro,” Clint sighed, one arm going around the kid’s shoulders while his other hand held the back of Pietro’s head. The latter had buried his face against Clint’s neck and had no desire to move. “Thank god you’re ok.” The archer kissed what little skin he could reach. His heart was racing and his breathing was erratic but fuck that because Pietro was here. In his arms. Safe.   
Neither of them knew who was shaking first but it really didn’t matter. Goddamn it didn’t matter.   
“I knew you’d come.” Pietro whispered into Clint’s neck. All Clint could do was nod and clutch tighter. But then Pietro’s knees started shaking and Clint couldn’t hold him no matter how hard he tried and they were both falling. Clint ended up on his knees while cradling Clint in his arms.   
“Are you ok” He asked, brushing back the mop of hair that he didn’t have the heart to make Pietro cut.   
“I’m ok, old man. Very happy to see you. But very tired also.”   
“That’s alright, you quick bastard. We’ll get you home and in bed.” Pietro laughed as a sly grin crept onto his face.   
“Not even a minute after you find me and already you want me in bed. You’re a pervert old man.” And really, Clint couldn’t even begin to be mad. He had Pietro back and that was enough. He was so happy and so relieved that he couldn’t help but kiss the smug bastard. The kiss was gentle. Just a soft press that melted Pietro’s heart a little. Clint didn’t pull back too far, just enough to look into Pietro’s eyes without going cross-eyed. He brought his hand up to the speedster’s grubby cheek and ran his thumb gently over Pietro’s cheek.   
“I was so worried about you, it made me sick. I almost shot Cap in the face because of it.”   
“I wasn’t worried.” Pietro stated with a proud smile. “I knew you’d find us.”   
“Oh, how touching.” All of the calm, loving moment that Clint had just been lost in had frozen sharply at the sound of that voice.   
“Get lost before I shoot your head off,” Clint snarled. Pietro felt Clint’s hold on him turn vice-like. He looked past the archer’s shoulder to see the man who had interrupted them the last time. Clint shuffled round so he could glare at Loki while still holding his speedster. “Fuck off.”   
“Such harsh words.” Loki said in mock hurt. “And after we had such a wonderful ki-”   
“Shut up!” Roared Clint which got Steve’s attention.   
“Loki, that’s enough. Go over there.” Cap ordered, dragging Loki away from the cell.   
“Clint? What was-”   
“Not now,” Clint ground out.   
“But-” Clint turned back to look at Pietro. The glare that he had softened quickly.   
“Not now, alright? We’ll get you back to the Quinjet and back to HQ. I’ll tell you later, I promise. Just let me get you safe first, ok?” Pietro nodded. He was happy that Clint gave him a kiss as a reward. Carefully, Clint pulled Pietro to his feet and kept his steady with the speedster’s arm over his shoulders. Out in the hallway, Cap had Wanda in his arms who had just spotted Banner. She put her hand on his shoulder with a sad sort of smile. Bruce paused for a moment before nodding with a smile of his own.   
“You found him?” Pietro asked Clint.   
“Yeah, he wasn’t exactly trying.”   
“Good.” Banner had heard them, if his smile getting wider was anything to go by.   
“Are you ok to go?” Cap asked Pietro who then nodded. “Alright, Banner and Romanov, you walk with Loki. And Loki, don’t you dare say a word.” The trickster in question mimed zipping his lip.   
“Lean on me,” Clint said quietly as the started walking. Pietro didn’t need to be told twice. But still, he kept most of his weight off of Clint; he didn’t want the old man to crumble under the weight of his muscles. Wanda looked over Cap’s shoulder to roll her eyes at her brother.   
“Stark” Natasha said into the ear piece. “We have the twins, we’re heading back to the jet.”   
“ _Roger that, that Midgardian isn’t here either. Tell Loki his gem sucks._ ”   
“Cap won’t let him speak so he can’t say anything sassy.”   
“ _Well that’s no fun at all_.” They could all hear the pout in Tony’s voice.   
“We’ll talk more back at the jet,” Cap said, a hint of a sigh in his tone.   
“ _Copy that_ ,” Sam replied before Tony could.

Once everyone was back at the jet, Natasha flew them home. The explanations were to wait till they got back. Thor stuck next to his brother along with Sam. Cap was talking with Stark and Banner with Deadpool sitting alongside them.   
As for Clint, he had Pietro resting his head on his lap while Wanda had her head on his shoulder. Clint rested his head on hers while he held her hand. His other hand was rubbing Pietro’s right arm softly while the speedster slept. Vision sat on the other side of Wanda as he held her hand while the other three were asleep. Deadpool had remarked a couple times about how cute they were and had even got a selfie with him kneeling in front of the four. Everyone thought the same and let Deadpool do whatever since he wasn’t being a total dick.  The ride lasted several hours and Clint woke up a few minutes before landing. He didn’t feel refreshed but he did feel relieved when he still had the twins either side of him.   
When they arrived at HQ, Fury had questions. He let Vision and Clint take the twins away. Before the red sentient took Wanda back to her room, Clint hugged her and pressed a kiss to her temple.   
“I’m glad you’re safe.” He murmured. He felt Wanda nod before he let her go. Pietro took the archer’s hand and they walked back to Clint’s room since Pietro’s was a mess and Clint really couldn’t handle the mess at that time.   
Clint had just closed the door before Pietro had his pressed up against the door. He didn’t mind in the least and let Pietro kiss him feverishly. The speedster got them out of their clothes and onto the bed faster than Clint’s mind could keep up with. All he knew was Pietro was on top of him and kissing his neck. The Sokovian ran his hands up and down the archer’s arms, squeezing the muscles every now and again.   
“Goddamn kid, it’s like you have a fetish for my arms.” Clint joked. The moan Pietro made wasn’t a joke as he started pressing biting kisses to Clint’s right arm. “Holy shit, you do.” Pietro nodded and grinded his hips against Clint’s. They were both hard and pressed together and all Clint wanted to do was to keep rocking against Pietro. But then again, he wanted so much more.   
Thank god the tube of lubricant was within reach or Clint would have had a mental break down. A few minutes later and Clint was rewarded with the sight of Pietro rocking back against three of his fingers. Pietro’s eyes were screwed shut as he breathed raggedly against Clint’s arm. A mental note was made to ask the speedster about his fascination with his arms.   
“Please Clint,” Pietro gasped, opening his eyes with a pleading look in their depths. And really, how could Clint refuse. Pietro didn’t refuse when Clint rolled them over so the archer was on top. But he did whine when Clint took his time.   
“Hurry it up.”   
“Hang on god dammit.” Clint groaned as he pushed all of the way in. He braced himself on his elbows either side of Pietro’s head. But then he opened his eyes and saw Pietro lying there, with him. Safe and sound. All his. And then suddenly something clicked and everything in the universe made total sense.   
“What is it?” Pietro askes, cupping Clint’s face in his hands.   
“I love you.” Clint stated. Pietro smiled like he understood but really he didn’t. He didn’t understand that Clint loved him. Like really loved him. Clint loved the snarky speedster who tried to kill him before dying to protect him. He loved this man who had come back from the dead with a heart beating for him. And Clint’s heart felt like it was going to claw its way up Clint’s throat just to pour itself out to Pietro. And Clint would have let it. But words weren’t working so Clint started moving.   
“I love you.” Clint said as he started rocking in and out of Pietro. “I love you.” He said when Pietro gasped and clutched tighter. “I love you.” When Clint buried his face against Pietro’s neck. “I love you.” When Pietro begged for more. “I love you.” When Pietro came between their stomachs all warm and wet. “I love you.” When Clint came after a few more thrusts and didn’t dare let go.   
“I love you too, old man.” Pietro said, out of breath when Clint had pulled out and flopped down beside him. The speedster then rolled onto his side so Clint could curl up against him. And Clint did, but he wasn’t finished.   
Pietro tried to hold Clint’s right hand but it was already trailing down his stomach. When Clint wrapped his hand around Pietro’s cock, the speedster groaned and pressed his face into the pillow.   
“Too soon. Sensitive,” he whined and bent his arm so he could hold Clint’s upper arm.   
“Shh, I’ve got you, love.” Clint hummed into Pietro’s ear. Pietro lay there whimpering and moaning as Clint started rubbing him to hardness as well as grinding against Pietro’s ass.   
“Clint.”   
“No one’s taking you from me.” The archer growled, biting Pietro’s ear. He was already hard and Pietro wasn’t far behind. “You’re not leaving me again. You got that.” Pietro just nodded before pressing his ass back against Clint’s hardness. “I’m putting it in.” Clint stated as he let go of Pietro to line himself up. It was a slick slide in as Clint started up a smooth rhythm. Pietro wasn’t ready for a rough round and Clint, though he’d never admit, wasn’t up for being rough.   
“Ah, Clint. Oh yes. Nh, yes.” Pietro moaned. He met Clint’s languid thrusts with his own. The sound of skin slapping against skin drove Pietro mad and soon he was coming with Clint’s name strangled in his throat. He felt it when Clint came. The wet warmth on the inside, the ragged breath on his neck and the shuddering against his back. After a moment, Clint rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Pietro was pleased with the sight of his archer’s ass. Clint came back with a warm cloth and wiped them both clean.   
“I so glad you’re safe,” Clint said with a kiss against Pietro’s neck once he’d settled down behind him. Pietro hummed happily as he relaxed. The threats of tomorrow not yet theirs to worry over.   
“Me too, old man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See?   
> SEE?  
> They have their twins back!!!   
> I really loved this chapter and it was so fun to write and asdfghjl; I know it sounds selfish and narcissistic but I really like this fucking chapter and how it turned out and ugh!   
> So what do you guys think?   
> I don't think anything else needs to be said about this. 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	18. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The following day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ALL have to give my new beta- Ximena13 - all the love you can! You have to!   
> I don't make the rules, I just enforce them.   
> So do that after you read this.   
> Or before.   
> If you're bad ass and don't play by the rules like that.   
> Anyways, let's get on with it :D 
> 
> Enjoy :)

When Pietro woke up that morning, his body ached. His arms ached from where he had been throwing himself at the metal bars. His hips ached because of… he blamed his archer for that. Speaking of, Pietro didn’t feel Clint behind him.   
When the speedster opened his eyes and rolled over, Clint’s side of the bed was empty.   
“Clint?” He called to the empty room. He waited a moment and was answered with silence. When he decided to get out of bed, the bedroom door opened.   
“Morning,” Clint said with a plate of eggs on toast and a coffee in the other hand. “Breakfast.”   
“Thank you,” the speedster replied when the archer handed them to him. Clint perched on the edge of the bed as Pietro dug in.  
"What’s up?” Pietro asked around a mouthful of toast. Clint looked a little troubled. “There’s something I gotta tell you, and you’re not going to like it. God knows I bloody well don’t.”   
“Should I stop eating?”   
“You might wanna leave the coffee till I tell you.” Clint really didn’t want a face full of spat on coffee. “Well when you and Wanda went missing, we all thought that it was Loki as per friggen usual. So we went and found him at some dumb art gallery. That- that’s not important. Anyway, we got him back here and he said that he knew who had you and how to find them.”   
“Why?”   
“Apparently the guy, he’s like Thor and Loki, has a tome that Loki wants. But he wanted something for the information.”   
“What?” Pietro sensed the hesitation and uncomfortable atmosphere.   
“He wanted me to kiss him.”   
“Why the fuck?” Clint shrugged. “You didn’t, did you? Clint?”   
“I didn’t want to.” Clint alluded, dropping his head. Pietro’s heart dropped a bit. “God, I’m the last person who’d ever want to kiss that manipulative bastard. But he knew how to get to you and I thought it was just going to be a peck. But-”   
“But what?” By now Pietro had lost all interest in his food.   
“Promise you won’t leave until I’ve said everything?” Pietro nodded though the idea of leaving was tempting. “I kissed him really quickly, barely a touch. But when I pulled back, we were in some other place.”   
“What do you mean?”   
“Like an illusion, similar to what Wanda can do. And in it… I had to kiss him  _properly_. And for some reason I wanted to. So I did. It was like the first time he got inside my head. I knew what I was doing but I just didn’t care. I wanted to do all that. But this time was different.”   
“How?” Clint could see that Pietro was thrumming with rage. There was a faint blue glow over his skin and the archer knew he had to say the right words.   
“Because I didn’t have you the first time.” The rage that underlined Pietro’s face was trumped by his confusion. “When I was… kissing that fucker, I called out your name. It wasn’t supposed to happen but it did and it snapped me out of it. So I pulled back and punched him in the face.” Clint watched the speedster through the quiet moment that followed.   
Interrupting someone’s thoughts wasn’t a good idea; especially when that someone was as impulsive and prone to jealousy as Pietro. After a while, Pietro managed to get his words sorted.   
“My name?” He asked, finally looking at the archer.   
“Yeah.”   
“And you punched him?”   
“Yeah.”   
“Really hard?”   
“Probably the hardest punch I’ve ever thrown.” Pietro nodded, seemingly pleased. But Clint wasn’t fooled. With a quick smile at Clint, Pietro clambered out of bed and headed towards the door. Clint’s hand on his arm stopped him.   
“Where are you going?” It was Clint’s turn to ask questions.   
“For a run,” Pietro answered with an innocent shrug of his shoulders.   
“And that run wouldn’t happen to be anywhere near the holding cells in the east wing past the garage, would it?” Pietro tried to stop his grin at the sarcasm in Clint’s words.   
“Of course not. I don’t have any reasons for going near the cells.”   
“Good to hear. And definitely not the third one. The one with 7-8-4-9-B-L-7 as the combination.” Pietro’s grin was wicked as he leaned down to kiss Clint possessively. Clint let him and hummed. “Don’t let Cap catch you,” Clint warned just before Pietro walked out. The speedster heard it but could pretend not to have.  
Clint sat there, smug, knowing that he couldn’t be blamed for what was going to happen. 

“What the hell is going on?” Steve barked, storming into the cell area. Loki’s cell door was wide open which had triggered an alarm. Thor was right on his heels.   
“Nothing, you can go.” Pietro called over his shoulder. Pietro glared down at Loki as he shook the trickster in his grip. This fucker kissed Clint.  _His Clint._    
“We should leave them alone. You know what they say about two guys in a prison cell.” Steve turned around to glare at Deadpool with heated cheeks.   
“What the hell are you doing here?” Steve asked the merc.   
“I just wanted to see where the road runner was going. That kid has a killer glare.”   
“Pietro!” Thor boomed warningly. “Release my brother.” Pietro had Loki’s collar clenched in his left fist while the other was pulled back for another hit. Two purple marks showed on Loki’ pale skin.   
“He kissed Clint.” Pietro hissed, malice dripping from between his clenched teeth.   
“Oh, it’s a love triangle,” Deadpool gasped, clapping his hands. Thor stormed over and put a heavy hand on Pietro’s shoulder.   
“That is enough. Violence will not aid you in your jealousy. Release him and allow me to deal with my brother.” Thor said. Pietro knew the strength of the thunder god and didn’t want to get involved with that. “The team wishes to speak with you about your disappearance.”   
“Fine.” Pietro reluctantly let go of Loki who was busy glaring at his brother.   
“What, that’s it?” Deadpool whined as Pietro strode towards him and Steve.   
“You want me to punch you?”   
“Oi!” Deadpool gasped as he followed the speedster out of the room with Steve behind them, rolling his eyes. “I’m on your side!”   
“I don’t think that’s such a good thing.”   
Thor let them go. He didn’t care about missing the meeting since he would be told about it later. The cell door closed with him still inside, along with his brother.   
“Aren’t you going to follow your friends?” Questioned Loki, hissing at the pain.   
“Are you alright?” Thor went to help Loki up by the arm but was pushed back, unsurprisingly.   
“I’m fine. I dare say that Barton has a harder hit than that boy.”   
“I would ask you not to meddle in their relationship.” Loki’s pout suggested that he felt differently about that.   
When Loki stood beside him, Thor took his time to stare. Nothing had changed about him besides his features being sharper. No longer was there the boy who climbed trees with Thor and hid under the blankets with him during a storm.   
Thor couldn’t help himself. He cupped Loki’s face in his hands, rough and calloused, and pulled Loki closer. The kiss was just Thor’s lips pressed against Loki’s. But still it had Loki melting as he held Thor’s wrists. When the kiss was over, Thor brushed his nose against Loki’s affectionately before pulling back to look the other in the eyes.   
“When we find this Midgardian-Kree and get our mother’s tome back, I am taking you back to Asgard with me.”   
“And what will you do with me, brother?” Loki’s voice had dropped and became rough around the edges. Thor’s breath hitched at the sound of it before he composed himself.   
“Whatever I wish.” Thor’s sultry gaze had a shiver ripple up Loki’s back. Loki’s lips stretched into a pleased grin as he chuckled.   
“Oooh dearest Thor, you want to claim me.” Loki cooed. Thor stepped back and let his hands drop.   
“Haven’t I already?” Without waiting for an answer, Thor turned and left Loki in his cell. 

Cap and Deadpool followed behind the speedster. But when Pietro rounded a corner before them, he dashed off. At about the same time, Clint was turning a corner to then be shoved against the wall.   
“What the f-” But Pietro’s hands were already on Clint’s hips as the speedster licked and kissed at the archer’s neck and grinded their hips together.   
“You’re mine,” Pietro stated with a growl. “And I’m yours. Say it.”   
“You’re mine, I’m yours.” Clint parroted as he grabbed Pietro’s shoulders to pull him back. He then moved his right hand to cup Pietro’s cheek. “Pietro, what happened? Did you go see Loki?” Pietro nodded. “Did you hit him?”   
“Once.” Clint raised an eyebrow. “Twice.” He admitted, finally looking at Clint.  _His Clint._    
“Well I’m not surprised. But we have to go see Fury.” Clint stepped away from the wall and turned to leave. “Come on,” he said with his hand held out behind him. Pietro felt giddy as he grabbed Clint’s hand. Out of the corner of his eye, Pietro could see the tiny little smile on Clint’s lips which made him smile.

Fury didn’t smile though.   
“Well now that you’ve graced us with your presence, I want to get this started.” Fury huffed once Clint and Pietro had gotten to the conference room. Wanda, Natasha, Vision, Sam, Bruce, Rhodey, Steve, Tony and Deadpool were already there.   
“Sorry Sir.” Clint said, taking the seat next to Tony. Pietro let Clint’s hand go, going to sit next to his sister.   
“Now that we’re  _all_ here,” Fury began, giving Clint a pointed look and doing his best to ignore the purple mark on the archer’s neck. “Would Wanda and Pietro please be kind enough to tell us what happened.”   
“Well,” Wanda started. “When Clint went after Natasha, I went after him but my brother stopped me. Then when we turned to go into Doctor Banner’s apartment… I can’t remember. I just remember waking up in the dark and Pietro was there, in the cell next to me.” Everyone’s faces became grave as Wanda’s voice shook. Pietro took her hand in his under the table. “We were weak, we were tired. I couldn’t use my powers and- and I couldn’t hear anyone. And Pietro couldn’t go as fast as he usual can. So he started throwing himself against the bars to make them move. But they didn’t.” Clint twitched, remembering the faint bruise along Pietro’s upper right arm. “And there was this buzzing noise for a while, but that was it. No one came for us and no one said anything.”   
“Did they feed you?” Natasha asked.   
“There was water and food. It appeared out of nowhere.”   
“We took turns sleeping in case something happened.” Pietro added.   
“Good,” Cap said with a hint of pride for them.   
“And this Asgardian guy wasn’t there when you went looking?” Rhodey asked.   
“Nope.” Stark answered.   
“But he was there,” Sam added. “Before we got there. The place had been used recently but we couldn’t find him or any trace of where he went.”   
“And what does ‘he’ want?” Fury asked, getting real sick and tired of other beings wanting to destroy earth.   
“He works for Thanos.” Thor stated as he walked in. “The same being who sent my brother here for the tesseract. This pawn of Thanos wants the destruction of us. I believe it is because Thanos trusts no one else with the retrieval of the infinity stones.”   
“So how are we going to find him?” Rhodey asked since Fury was too busy cursing every extra-terrestrial being out there.   
“We wait.” Steve answered easily.   
“Ah, excuse you but why wait? We should be finding him so we can take him out.”   
“Think about it, Stark. He wants us. He probably knows where we are. So we wait and we get ready. We can’t keep following Loki’s gem to dead ends. We’d be vulnerable.”   
“Cap’s right.” Fury stated before Stark could get a word out. “Stay here and train. I’ll alert the necessary people. And you’d better stop this bastard.” It was Cap who answered with a sure nod.   
“Yes Sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeh.   
> That all happened ;)   
> So we get like another chapter before our baddie shows up!   
> Let's see how that goes. 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	19. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deadpool just wants to connect with his teammates. That's all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy look who's a piece of trash for not updating in forever! :D   
> Really I am sorry, but for some reason this just wasn't getting done and things happened and excuses, excuses.   
> I won't make you wait any longer since you've all been so amazingly patient.   
> Again, give your love to my amazing beta Ximena13 who waited and urged me and checked on me to make sure I wasn't sick (or dead) anymore! Give all the love you can!!!!!!!!!! *aggressively hits keyboard* 
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Whatcha doing?” Deadpool sing-songed as he picked up a strange tool from Tony’s work bench. The billionaire snatched it from him.   
“Working. Don’t touch that!” The ‘that’ that Tony was referring to was the replacement repulser for Rhodey’s suit which was armed and ready. And also in the hands of Deadpool who was twisting it this way and that and also getting dangerously close to setting it off. “Don’t you have some training to do?”   
“Eh.” Deadpool shrugged, turning his attention to all of the other possibly dangerous do-whats that Tony had lying around. “I thought I’d come see my teammate and do trust building exercises. Here, cross your arms over your chest and fall back. I’ll definitely catch you.”   
“Why don’t you ask Barton? I’m sure he’d love to do trust exercises with you.” Deadpool thought over that for a moment, with another tool in his hold, before agreeing.   
“You’re right. Of all of you, I’d say he trusts me the least.”   
“And as teammates, it’s your responsibility to work together and trust each other.” The sarcasm in Stark’s words were not lost on the merc who grinned beneath his mask.   
“Alrighty, I’ll be off then. Just you wait, Barton and I will be besties before you know it!” Deadpool called as he waltzed out of the workroom just as Steve walked in with two cups of coffee and a bag of blueberries.   
“Besties? What was that all about?” The captain asked. Tony took his coffee and the bag of blueberries before putting them down to be ignored in favour of the work.   
“All I know is that we are going to have one little grumpy archer. That’s for sure.” Cap sighed at the thought. But there was nothing he could do about it now.   
“Need any help?”   
“Nah, I’ve got this.” And just like that, Tony’s focus zeroed in on the work. Steve dutifully accepted it; already knowing Stark’s personality. So, quietly, he went and got his sketchpad and pencil from the table in the corner and sat down off to the side. Sketching Tony wasn’t exactly training but no one else was around to tell Steve that. 

“No. Fuck off.”   
“Come on! Trust is a part of teamwork!” Deadpool called as Clint flipped from another perch to then set off an arrow in one of the drones. “Tony said I should.”   
“I don’t care if Tony told you to put on a white dress and be Marilyn Monroe.” Clint shivered in disgust at the thought before firing at the drone once more.   
“I don’t have the legs to be her.” Replied Deadpool smoothly and with a shrug of his shoulders. Clint ignored the merc while clambering up to a higher vantage point. The drone buzzed around with its sensor light missing the archer.   
“Come on,” he muttered, waiting for the sensor light to face him.   
“If you fall, I’ll catch you!” Deadpool called out.   
“What?” That second of distraction left Clint open, and the drone found him and had its bullets shooting at the archer. “Fuck!” He growled, stumbling from his high vantage point. True to his word, Deadpool was there to catch Clint. Unfortunately, he caught the archer… bridal style.   
“Don’t worry ma’am.” Deadpool said in a deeper, old fashion American hero voice. “I’ll protect you.” Deadpool’s protection started with him dropping Clint on his arse before pulling out his swords. “Let’s dance metal man.” Clint barely recovered himself before Deadpool sliced the drone up into several parts after leaping from one perch to the next. When he landed back on the ground in front of the archer, Clint growled.   
“Idiot. My arrows stun the drone. Now you’ve gone and chopped it up.” Said drone was lying in frazzled and sparking pieces behind the merc. “They're about three million each!”   
“Oops. Well, I caught you and that was my reason for being here.” Deadpool announced before quickly darting off.   
He heard Clint snarl something. “What was that?” He asked, turning back around. “I didn’t quite hear- AH!” The merc ducked out of the way of the arrow that landed right where his head was. “Ok! Great team building time. I’ll go find our other teammates now!” Clint had never seen the merc run out of a room faster than that. 

Deadpool went in search of Thor, thinking that the big guy would be a fun time. But when he got to his room, the merc heard weird noises from Thor and… someone. And the merc thought better than to interrupt whatever  _that_ was.   
Deadpool was smart enough not to even try with Natasha; the one in the kitchen with knives close at hand. Sam and Rhodey were in the living room playing video games. They had just finished a work out apparently. Deadpool quit when he got bored of going easy on them so he wouldn’t win by a friggen mile. The merc went to find the other Asgardian, the one with the creepy grin, but he wasn’t in his cell. To tell, or not to tell. That was the question Deadpool asked himself. Not to tell.   
Deadpool avoided Scarlet Witch and Vision for two reasons.   
First: Wanda was scary and he wasn’t going to deal with her in a million years.   
The second: Vision was just too polite and didn’t get flustered and riled no matter how hard he tried. Speaking of Wanda, her brother seemed far more entertaining. And with that, Deadpool went in search of Pietro in the hopes of some form of fun. 

“Whatcha doing?” Deadpool asked, crouching down beside the speedster behind the ammunition box in the far corner.   
“Nothing,” Pietro answered quickly.   
“Don’t you have training?”   
“Got bored.”   
“So you decided to perv on this old guy?” The ammunition box was in the far corner of the training room, where Clint was firing arrows at another, non-sliced up, drone.   
“He has nice arms.” Pietro’s defence wasn’t great, but Deadpool didn’t want to get into that can of worms. Watching Barton was getting boring fast. And Deadpool was not in the business of boring himself.   
“Wanna go do something more fun?” He suggested.   
“Like?” Pietro tried to play off as disinterested but the merc could hear the childish curiosity underlining that accent.   
“I’m pretty sure one of those Quinjets would be fun to fly.”   
“We’d get in trouble.”   
“That would only be true if we get caught. And I hear you’re pretty fast.” Pietro turned to look at Deadpool and a grin slowly crept onto his mouth. “That’s what I’m talking about!” Deadpool cheered before dragging Pietro away. 

“Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?” Pietro asked once they were inside the jet. Deadpool started poking and hitting buttons.   
“Sure, sure. I’m a fantastic driver!” The merc assured. “I’m sure one of these will start the jet. Just give me a- aha!” The engine came to life as the Quinjet started up. “Ye of little faith.”   
“Congratulations, you got it started. But can you actually fly it?” Pietro had the right of mind to hold on as the Quinjet started to lift… shakily.   
“I’ve got it, don’t worry. Just hold on and have fun.” Deadpool couldn’t see the concerned glare that Pietro was giving the merc behind his back. The jet lifted higher as the engine noises rose. “To infinity,” Deadpool said, dropping his voice, before pushing the jet forward. “And beyond!” 

To be honest, Deadpool was a good driver; according to Pietro. The merc would flip the jet over and speed up when he asked. They flew as high as it could manage which was pretty damn high before radars and alarms started going off.   
“That was amazing!” Pietro cheered when Deadpool had flown upside down for a mile, weaving between city buildings. “Do it again!” And Deadpool did.   
After about three hours of flying antics, the pair stopped off for some burgers and fries before flying to the coast to eat on the beach which was something Pietro had always wanted to do. Except he never imagined he’d eat food at the beach with a slightly off kilter mercenary wearing a red and black body suit. But the little details didn’t matter.   
“You wanna fly the jet?” Deadpool asked once he’d finished his fries. Pietro looked at him with a surprised look akin to excitement with half of his second burger stuffed in his mouth.   
“Offay.” He mumbled with what almost passed as a grin.   
Deadpool was a good teacher. Again, according to Pietro. He didn’t sigh a lot and call Pietro names like Stark, he didn’t curse and yell like Clint and didn’t make Pietro feel like he’d just kicked a puppy and like the biggest disappointment in the world after messing up like Steve made him feel. Deadpool either cheered him on, pointed out what was wrong and told him to remember next time, and explained everything like Pietro wasn’t an idiot.   
But then gas started running low and they were heading home anyways. Pietro worried about how they were going to sneak a freaking Quinjet in without anyone noticing. When he asked, Deadpool’s answer gave him no reassurance.   
“To be honest I didn’t think we’d make it this far.”   
When they were above the Avengers HQ, Pietro looked out of the window and the rest of their team making their way outside.   
“Oooh busted,” Deadpool sighed as he landed the jet.   
“We’re in so much trouble.” Pietro really didn’t want another lecture from anyone. Steve was walking straight for them when the door opened. But he didn’t stop. Instead, he walked past them with a hand on Pietro’s shoulder.   
“Thanks.” He said. Stark was right behind him and headed for the chair while the others climbed in.   
“What the-? Some idiot forgot to fill the fuel tank.” Stark complained. Pietro and Deadpool guiltily looked at each other. “Oh well, we’re switching to solar then.” That was a relief.   
“What’s going on?” Pietro asked Clint who had all of his gear just like the others.   
“Didn’t you hear the alert? There’s been an attack in LA.”   
“Oh,” Pietro started to lie. “Y-yeah, that. I heard that.” Wanda gave her brother an unimpressed look.   
“And you forgot to gear up, huh?” Pietro was still wearing his jeans and hoodie combo. “Thank god you have me.” Clint said with a smile as he handed Pietro a bundle of folded clothes.   
“Thanks,” muttered Pietro as he sat down next to Clint. The archer then leaned in close so that his mouth was barely a centimetre from Pietro’s ear, and whispered.   
“Next time you steal a Quinjet, turn the sensors off.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeh.   
> Aren't they adorable friends? And that beach scene was not a date(!)   
> (it totally was a bro date which is completely different!)   
> Did you guys like that part with Pietro spying on Clint? I totally reckon that the speedster would do that sort of thing ;)   
> And let me be the first to tell you that Deadpool is a good driver! No matter what his friends say -.-   
> And let's thank Clint for covering for our resident idiot speedster! Woo hoo for Hawkeye. 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	20. Chapter 19 ~Interlude: Pietro's Dream~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pietro's dreams are a little... fanciful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> So the reason why my updates have been sporadic at best is because the software I use for writing is no longer working and I have to wait till this weekend to get it fixed. Ugh.  
> So I'm using something else and working out all of the kinks while I'm at it.  
> This interlude chapter is because there's going to be a big fight, the amount of smut has been sorely lacking and because I woke up and this idea came to me out of nowhere and I thought you might like it.  
> Warning: I'm making Pietro's dream very fanciful so don't be alarmed if things don't make sense or are weird!!!   
> And again, thank my wonderful beta because Ximena13 had to edit the smut I wrote. It was weird for both of us :P 
> 
> Enjoy :)

The room was large. No. Not even that. The room was friggen massive. It was one of those ballrooms like in the movies Wanda used to watch. The walls were a bright white, which seemed to glow all by themselves. Large marble pillars stood gargantuan on either end of the ballroom and the floor, which was the same colour. In normal circumstances, everyone would have been squinting at the sheer brightness. But Pietro found that the air itself was tinged grey and sparkled slightly as if the entire room was encased in champagne like what sat in the thin flute in Pietro's hand.   
Pietro stood at the entrance, in front of the large double doors that towered to the roof. The steps were marble and had a guard, dressed in silver armor, on the ends of every second step. Their helmets tapered off in points which made them look like beaks. The feathers sprouting from the tops didn't help.   
He stood watching the sparkling room and the people therein. Women wore gowns that clung tightly to their waists to then puff out like cupcakes. Each dress was a different colour of a different shade, their adornments more colourful and radical than the next. Some were harsh and looked painful to wear while others were soft and made the woman look dainty, verging on childish. The men wore suits finely tailored to their bodies. A vast number were black while a few stood out: burgundy, a couple dark blues, maroon, one impeccable white and a few dark greens. The adornments on both the dresses and suits glittered like stars.   
Smiling at the sight, Pietro felt the edge of his mask dig in to his cheeks. It was a masquerade ball. People wore makes of varying shapes, sizes, colours and fabrics. Where some hid the entire face, others coyly showed a part and left the rest up to the imagination. 

As Pietro sauntered down the steps, he noted that the voices about the room sounded more like bells and whistles rather than actual voices. It was quite pretty.   
Moving about the crowd was easy, as Pietro was a head taller than the women and a few of the men. He had to keep his grin in check when he noticed the coy, quick stares of the young and older ladies. Some of their fanning becoming faster.

With his ego sufficiently sated, Pietro stopped near one of the large, daunting pillars and surveyed the crowd once again. In the middle of the crowd was a honorary dance floor. No markings showed the edge, just the distance between those standing and those dancing. In the back of his mind, Pietro remembered the word Wanda had taught him-  _waltzing_.   
"Excuse me," a soft voice chimed from Pietro's left. He turned to find a blonde woman standing next to him; her hands clasped in front of her waist. Her dress was the colour of forget-me-nots. The neck line pulled across her chest, leaving her pale shoulders bare while a necklace of silver gems hung from her neck like a waterfall; it moved as such with every breath. The bodice clung to her and was embroidered with a silver pattern much like flowers with swirls sweeping towards her back. The cupcake skirt rumpled at the back slightly which left the fabric in the front smooth.  
"Yes?" He asked, sipping the still bubbly champagne. He let his voice drift lower and was rewarded with a charming blush that lingered on the tips of her ears.   
"I was wondering if you would do me the honor of sharing this next dance with me?" Once her words left her mouth, the young lady looked up. The porcelain mask that covered the top half of her face made her bright grey eyes shine all the brighter. Pietro found himself accepting as he took her hand and led her towards the other dancers. Once they were at the edge of the impromptu dance floor, the song stopped. Pietro guided them to their place and settled his free hand on her waist just as a new song started up. It was livelier than the last, but Pietro had no trouble keeping up. Each step and every spin was perfect. A tiny part of him wished Wanda was there to see how well her brother danced.   
The room still bubbled around them and the voices still chimed. Pietro was smiling at the girl he held whose eyes couldn't quite reach his. Quickly, he moved his gaze from her to once again survey the room. The others stood, chatting to one another as they had been. But there, in among the crowd, was a man moving like water through the cracks. Pietro felt himself freeze at the sight of him, not registering the words the girl said. The accuracy and courtliness with which he walked made Pietro's legs a little weak.   
Unlike the other fine dressed men about the room, this one forwent the suit jacket. Instead, the man wore his white button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, tightening the fabric against his upper arms. This gave the speedster full view of those tantalizing forearms which in turn suggested the strength and musculature of him. The man also wore dark purple suspenders that sat snugly against his pectorals. Pietro's mouth watered a little; and that was before he had even seen the man's face. Pietro let go of the girl without a word and absentmindedly followed the smoke-like man. No matter which way he turned, Pietro couldn't see his face; just the sandy blonde, short hair that he felt a desperate need to card his fingers through.   
Pietro gave chase throughout the ballroom; weaving past people and sliding away from fleeting touches on his arms. He paid no heed as to where this man was taking him. All the elder Maximoff knew was that he  _wanted_ him. Pietro tried to call out but his voice failed him as his mouth began to fill with cotton. When Pietro reached up to try and remove the cotton, he found that there was nothing in his mouth, but his fingers came back stained with purple. He didn't have time to fret over that fact. The man Pietro was following had slipped out the french doors that weren't there before. The glass showed nothing but swirling colours of pink, green, yellow and blue. Undeterred, Pietro made his way over and slipped through the same door as his mystery man. 

The garden was shrouded in darkness, where the rose and rhododendron bushes, fountains and marble benches stood could not be seen. The only light Pietro had were the small fireflies that drifted like snow and the white glowing footprints he made. Off in the distance, Pietro could just make out the lingering glow of other white footsteps.   
 _That way,_  he thought and followed quickly. The stride in the footsteps he followed were shorter than his own which Pietro was smugly happy with. What dampened his happiness was that when the speedster looked up from the trail, he found himself in the midst of a high hedge maze.   
"Oh shit," he murmured "What? No. No!" He panicked, realizing that the footsteps had diminished. Alone in the dark, lost in the maze, Pietro realized just how screwed he was. "Good on you Pietro. Getting yourself lost because you were stalking some guy."   
"So you were following me." A voice purred in his ear. Pietro had no time to react to the voice because a pair of muscled arms wrapped tightly around his torso, as a solid body pressed itself against his back. "Looks like you're caught." The speedster shivered as that mouth brushed against his ear as their breath ghosted down his neck.   
"Who-?" Pietro looked down to find that the arms around him had the sleeves rolled up; the man he was following, then.   
"Here," the man whispered. "Let me." At that, Pietro felt the knot of his mask being pulled undone before his mask tumbled from his face. "Better?" All Pietro could do was nod. He turned around in the man's arms and rested his own against the shorted man's shoulders.   
"Allow me," the speedster replied, followed by him removing the other's mask. Seeing the face of the other, Pietro gaped, "Clint?"  
"So you finally realize," Clint replied, leaning in to nip and kiss at Pietro's jaw. "You look so sexy in this suit."  
"Says you." It irked Pietro, the breathlessness of his voice as he clung to the archer. Said archer huffed, before gripping Pietro's hips and rolling his own against Pietro's. Clint swallowed Pietro's moan with a heady kiss; all lips and tongue. Pietro was so lust addled that he didn't even notice his fingers carding through Clint's hair or how his hips rolled and grounded desperately.   
"Clothes off." The growled order made Pietro mewl before complying as quick as he could. The clothes slipped off like water, no buttons needing to be undone. He would have questioned that oddity if it weren't for the sweet taste and buzzing feel of all of Clint's skin against his own. It only made his hips move more frantically.   
"Oh god," he moaned into Clint's ear as he dug his nails into the archer's shoulders, to then shift his hands to create more moon shaped scars.   
"You wanna keep rutting against me or do you actually want  _me_?" Pietro nodded. "Then lie down." Before he knew it, Pietro was on his back, the grass soft as silk against his skin. The ground felt light like water. Clint stood over Pietro, watching him with hooded eyes as he took himself in hand. Pietro made a noise of protest; wanting to do that himself. So he spread his legs as invitation and he saw Clint's legs shake.   
"Want you," Pietro made out, his words curling with his accent. And that was all the invitation Clint needed. The archer fell to his knees to then crawl over the speedster. He pressed possessive kisses and bites to Pietro's skin, leaving little dark badges of ownership in his wake. The kiss he gave Pietro involved very little use of their lips and became a heated slid and swirl of tongues.   
By now, Pietro was too hard for comfort and wanted his release five minutes ago. As if sensing his thoughts, Clint pulled himself back and straddled the speedsters undulating waist. Pietro was about to inform his dear archer that that was not where he should be. But all coherent thought dashed out of his mind when Clint grabbed Pietro's hard length and sank himself down on it. The heat and the feel of Clint's ass around him had Pietro gasping as he watched Clint's chest heaving, both of them gulping for air.  
"Goddamn kid," Clint winced once he was seated atop his speedster. "That's such a dumb expression you've got there."  
"Shut up," Pietro sneered as he surged up to kiss Clint, his hands grabbing Clint's waist.  
And then they were moving, both of them rocking and bucking, each trying to chase the other over the edge.   
"Clint! Oh god, Clint!" Pietro gasped, feeling dangerously close.   
"That's it baby," Clint cooed. There was a wicked smirk on his face. "C'mon Pietro. C'mon. Pietro. Pietro, wake up, Pietro. Pietro!" 

"Pietro, wake up." The speedster startled awake with a jolt. He looked around to find himself in the Quinjet, everyone else busy with something else. "You ok?" The speedster looked up to find Clint staring down at him.   
"Clint?" He had been leaning on the archer's shoulder.   
"You were mumbling in your sleep." Pietro ducked his head so Clint wouldn't see the blush on his cheeks.   
"Was I? Sorry."   
"It's fine," the archer replied, kissing the top of Pietro's head. "Good dream was it?"   
"Yeah," Pietro couldn't help the small grin that tugged at his mouth. "A very good dream." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dreams can get really strange.  
> I was inspired by the movie 'Anna Karenina' which actually stars Aaron Taylor Johnson as the young love interest. It's such a beautiful movie with stunning costumes, gorgeous sets and I particularly loved the beginning sequence with the transitions between scenes. So clever. I highly recommend it, but it does have a sad ending.  
> Also a little from Dragon Age: Inquisition with the dance with the people from Orlais. (I can't remember off the top of my head)  
> But I hope you liked this!  
> Now I have to plan out the battle ahead. Yay for that! 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	21. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eheh  
> Sooooooooo guess whose back? After almost a month...  
> I AM SO SORRY!!  
> Really I have no excuses as to why this took so long. Not even me saying that I have writing battles and fighting is much of one. But I have said before that I will not give up on this and I aim to keep that promise.  
> Hopefully the next chapter wont take as long. And I won't keep you waiting any longer.  
> And Ximena13 was a joy and wonder when it came to this so keep giving your love and praise!!!
> 
> Enjoy :)

When they landed in LA, everything was... normal. Abnormally so. No one was screaming or running, buildings still towered intact and there were no policemen in over their heads. It unsettled the entire group.   
"I thought you said that there was an attack," Pietro muttered to Clint as the group stood outside the Quinjet. People were starting to look and point.   
"C'mon." Steve ordered with a clenched jaw. Everyone knew of his reluctance to be in the spotlight for even a second. Tony, however, was already pulling peace signs.  
Clint rolled his eyes at the display and followed after Steve; Pietro right by his side.   
"It's too normal," he muttered. Clint couldn't figure out if his unease was because there was actually something wrong or if it was because the towering buildings and civilians reminded him of New York. He flickered his gaze to Tony, but couldn't tell if he was uneasy or not inside the suit. He felt Pietro stop beside him.   
"Wanda?" The speedster asked, cupping his sister's face in his hands. Her eyes were glazed but were then full of panic.   
"It's a trap."   
"Are you sure?" Clint questioned with a hand on her shoulder. Everyone else around them stopped. A feeling like a lead bowling ball settled in his stomach when she nodded. A second later a piercing screech shattered through the air. Everyone slapped their hands over their ears and keeled over from the pain. All Clint could focus on was the ringing in his ears, the shaking of his bones and the blackness creeping at the edge of his vision. And as suddenly as it had begun, the noise stopped. Clint's knees gave out and thudded onto the concrete.   
"What in the heck was that?" Sam gasped.   
"My ears are crying like that one time I listened to Coldplay," whined Deadpool, over somewhere nearby.   
"I believe it is our enemy." Clint noticed the hint of anger in Vision's voice in his announcement. Clint looked up and his line of vision followed that of the others. Above them hovered a man similar in size to Thor. However this man had bronze skin which was webbed with black lines. His eyes were black with small hints of white at the edges. His armor was dark blue, closer to black, and covered all but his fingers and neck. The cape that whipped behind him was an emerald green. But what really struck Clint was the white hair that was tied back into a bun with the sides closely shaved.   
"Looks like you're right, sunburn." Replied Tony, the mask of the suit closed tightly.   
"Who are you?!" Steve called out, poised and ready for the inevitable fight.   
For a moment the man just floated there, staring. Clint's fingers were itching for an arrow while Nat's curled towards her gun.   
"My name," the Asgardian-Kree announced. "Is Klaeo. And I am here at the behest of Thanos! After Loki's incompetence and failure of capturing the tesseract with you Avengers thwarting his plans, Thanos has decided that your fate is death."   
"So why send you?"   
"Because, _Captain_ ," Klaeo snarled with a voice that dripped like oil. "I have a power that you do not. Though your pet Asgardian and Jotun used to have claim to it."   
"Give us back Frigga's tome!" Thor yelled with Mjolnir held tightly in his grip. Loki seethed next to his brother.   
"Patience, brother. Your rage will not win you this fight."   
"No, it certainly won't." The sick grin that raked itself across Klaeo's face set something uneasy in Clint. He stepped closer to Pietro who had, in fact, taken a step towards the archer a second before. Then Klaeo's arms lifted out in front of him and a swirling, grey mist formed around his hands. "Rise, the fallen, the forgotten, the passed on! Death has claimed you! Now let it guide you and steal the life of all those living!" As soon as the last words left Klaeo's mouth, screams erupted all over the city.   
Suddenly grey mist covered the streets and footpaths as bodies, faceless and ashy, clawed their way out of it.  
"Pietro!" Cap ordered, "Get as many people as you can off of the streets. Stark, send word to any monitors that you can connect to and get the word out. Everyone else, get these things contained and destroyed."  
"I'll go after Klaeo," Thor demanded with a determined look in his eyes.  
"I'll assist," added Vision. With a nod from Cap, the two took off after Klaeo while Sam, Rhodey and Tony took off to form a parameter. Pietro grasped Clint's hand.  
"I'll be right back," he said.  
"Be careful." Clint managed, his throat tightening a little. Pietro nodded before turning to kiss Wanda's head and then he was off in a silvery blue blur. Clint had no time to stare after the speedster since the horde of ashy bodies were clambering towards them.  
"Hey Robin Hood," Deadpool said from Clint's side. The mercenary unsheathed both swords with a small flourish. "I bet you thirty bucks that I can kill more of these creeps than you."   
"Make it fifty and you've got a deal." Clint's arrow sunk into the nearest creep's head before Deadpool's blades decapitated the creep next to it. The battle began.   
  
Rhodey, Sam and Stark took to the skies, weaving between the buildings and charring anything out of their impromptu parameter which was highlighted on their screens. Klaeo's mist hadn't reached too far and the three were able to push the parameter back by three blocks.   
  
While Thor went hand to hand like a mad man at Klaeo, who could keep his own in a fight, Vision was firing at the airborne creeps circling around them. It wasn't that they were difficult to destroy, just that there was a lot of them. But persist Vision did while Thor took his rage out on the Asgardian-Kree.   
  
Once again Cap had to duck out of the way of one of Deadpool's swings. It was one thing for Cap to rip apart and beat up the rising dead. But it was another thing to do that while trying not to get sliced by a teammate. Cap was going to have words with Fury afterwards.   
  
Natasha and Clint fired at the enemy side by side. They'd managed to keep the ashy creeps a good several meters away while Wanda was off in the distance, throwing the creeps or obliterating them. Every now and again Clint would look over at the Scarlet Witch just to make sure she was ok. And if an arrow happened to land in the skull of a creep that got too close for comfort, well Wanda appreciated it.   
Even with all of the gunfire and shouting, Natasha could still hear Clint murmuring numbers every time an arrow hit its mark.  
  
Then there was Hulk doing what he did best. Thankfully none of the buildings had to be smashed. After New York, so much money, effort and time went into the reconstruction. This time, the clean up would be fixated on the streets thankfully.   
  
Person after person. Away from the streets. Back and forth. Pietro fell into the rhythm without thought. The speedster heard, more than saw, Hulk fighting. Every now and again there'd be a flash of green followed by the harmonious orchestra of glass breaking, screams and general destruction. Among that was the firing from Iron man, Patriot and Falcon. If Pietro concentrated, he usually could just make out Thor yelling.   
The street to your right, Wanda said in his head. She had been guiding him through the street to where civilians were while also fighting alongside Natasha and Cap.   
On it. Where's Clint? He couldn't help the worry. He knew Clint was strong, skilled and capable of taking care of himself. He'd seen Clint take on robots and men armed with guns while he just traipsed around with a bow and arrows. And the archer was still alive. But that didn't stop Pietro from worrying and wanting to keep the older man safe.  
He's fine. He's perched on a two storied building. He and Deadpool have a bet apparently. Pietro just rolled his eyes as he carried a woman in a suit jacket and skirt into the nearest building. He could hear FRIDAY's voice over the monitors, telling everyone to keep off of the streets.   
" _Everyone_ ," Vision said calmly over the comms.   
" _What is it?_ " Cap, however, sounded out of breath.   
" _These dead will just keep rising if we do not stop what is controlling them._ "   
" _Wanna fill us in on that?_ " Sam asked and the sound of metal scraping accompanied his voice.   
" _Klaeo's armor is what is giving him power. The other must be Lady Frigga's tome, though, I cannot find it._ "   
" _I'll try_ ," replied Wanda. Everyone kept fighting as they waited for an answer. " _It's underground. There are new tunnels that lead from the sewer_."   
" _Alright_." Cap said before ripping the head from on of the creeps. " _Vision, Thor and Wanda, you three work on getting that armor off of Klaeo._ "   
" _And what about the tome, spangles?_ "   
" _Just getting to that, Stark_!" Another creep wailed in the background. " _We need you, Falcon and Patriot in the sky along with Hulk. Widow, Hawkeye and I will keep busy on the ground. That means Deadpool and Quicksilver will go with Loki and get that tome_."   
" _Fuck no!_ " Clint snarled over the comms.   
" _Barton..._ "   
" _Fuck no and I mean it_."   
" _This isn't about you or your feelings. Quicksilver will go-_ "   
" _You'd be saying the same things as me if it was Stark_." For a moment, no one said a thing. Pietro managed to clear the last of the civilians away before he spoke.   
"I'll do it."   
" _Pietro-_ " The archer began but he cut Clint off.   
"Just give me a minute, please Cap."   
" _Alright. But only a minute_." With that affirmed, Pietro sped off.   
  
Clint fired another arrow, not bothering to watch the creeping corpse burst into ash.  
_47_ , Clint thought. He pulled another one out of his quiver and noted the amount he had left. Gotta pull them back in soon. Tony, a few weeks ago, had made and sent Clint a sort of magnet device that called back all of his tracked arrows to it. So Clint kept firing, all the while waiting for Pietro because he knew that the kid would come to him. He heard the small whoosh that usually accompanied the speedster and breathed. He felt tired at the though of the oncoming argument.   
"Pietro-" He started without turning around.   
"I'm going. And you really can't stop me." There was no cockiness to the kid's voice. Just that accent which Clint would sometimes let roll around his head like some soothing melody. Clint turned around.   
"Not with him. I don't want you going with him." Pietro nodded in knowing. There was a sheen of pain behind his determined expression.   
"I understand. I do, I really do. But we have to stop this. And I'll have Wade with me. I won't let him get into my head- Wanda won't let him get into my head. But we have to stop these guys and you're better suited out here in the open; not down under ground."   
"Fuck..." Clint sighed because he knew that. He knew and agreed with everything Pietro said, and still... Pietro stepped forward and ran his hands along Clint's arms soothingly, no other feeling put into it. Behind them shots were being fired, creeps were screaming and Deadpool was passing Clint's score of 47. And that didn't matter. Pietro had his forehead pressed against Clint's while the archer's hands rested on Pietro's hips. For a few seconds they stood like that with Pietro trying to catch Clint's expression on his face, since the latter had his eyes closed.   
"I'll be fine, Clint. I promise."   
"You know you can't." Clint argued, pulling back slightly but his hands never moved. The worried, anxious Clint was replaced by the battle hardened archer once more. "Cap's orders. Just keep an eye on Loki. I don't trust him as far as I can shoot." Pietro grinned with a nod before indulging himself. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Clint's. The latter grabbed the back of the speedster's head and pulled him closer. What Pietro thought was going to be chaste turned out more languid and patient, no urgency except for the tight grip Clint had. When Clint finally let Pietro go, both were a little breathless and a blush had found its way onto Pietro's cheeks.   
"I'll see you soon," he said.   
"Good." And with that, Pietro sped off to find Deadpool. Clint didn't wait. He pulled out another arrow as he turned back to the streets below, aimed and fired. "48."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just saying that Kleao is a character that I made up so there's no need to try find him anywhere.  
> Also, the bet between Deadpool and Clint was 100% inspired by the game between Gimli and Legolas in the Lotr films trilogy. So if you caught onto that then heck yeah for you!  
> Next chapter I think will focus a lot on the twins since they're the ones going off after the power sources. And, forgive me for not remembering your username, someone asked for a scene with Deadpool, Loki and Pietro a while ago. And I have done a sort of scene with them, I thought that a good tome-finding adventure would be even better for these three. What do you think?  
> Again I'm sorry for the monstrously long wait. I really have no idea what happened. But thank you for waiting so patiently! 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	22. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Second half of the battle and not everyone is well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so yep, another month gone by haha..... sorry.  
> Just know that I'm never going to give up on this story and that a month is probably the longest I will ever take to write chapters.  
> So I hate writing battles but this chapter, I really liked writing it. I just wish the motivation and inspiration came to me weeks ago. Then we wouldn't all have to suffer the wait.  
> I'm afraid that by then end of this chapter you'll be very mad at me and might possibly come after me with pitchforks and torches... oh well :P  
> Again, I hope you will join me in thanking my esteemed beta, Ximena13 who is a gem and I am so grateful for her help. So let's give a round of applause shall we?  
> I shan't keep you waiting any longer for this! 
> 
> Enjoy :)

Underground was dank and echoed. Pietro, Loki and Deadpool took no time in finding the hidden tunnels for two reasons.   
The first: Deadpool had an uncanny ability to find his way through the sewers as if he did it for a hobby.   
The second: it smelled bad and Pietro hated it. But apparently not as much as the trickster, who went as far as to create a force-field around them. Despite the unpleasant surroundings, the sewers didn't manage to dampen Deadpool's mood.   
"But wouldn't it be cool to see?" The merc asked, making wide, waving gestures with his hands.   
"I don't think someone's pet goldfish would mutate and turn into a monster." Even though Pietro doubted it, he still thought of seeing a large, turquoise fish with purple lips and fins, and having grey tentacles for legs. Maybe he was watching too many cartoons.   
"So unimaginative." Deadpool sighed, putting his hands behind his head as he followed the other two. "I hope this tome is heavily guarded." Both Pietro and Loki gave the merc incredulous stares over their shoulders. "I'm just saying, I didn't come down here to not slice things up with my swords and k-word a whole lot of creeps."   
"K-word?" It wasn't the first time Pietro was confused with the English language.   
"Oh, right. I can't actually say K-I-L-L. It's a weird mental click. So let's just say that if there are any creeps lurking around, I'll sleep them with the fishes. Ha!"   
"My brother has some annoying friends that I am sure you would be able to k-word." Loki sneered, not turning around. Deadpool rubbed his hands together, in what Pietro could only describe as a disconcerting gesture, and muttered 'excellent'.   
  
Above ground, things weren't so calm. The emergency services had arrived; sirens blaring and officers yelling. Cap had ordered them to evacuate the city and help keep the parameter so that the Fly Boys, nicknamed by Sam, could help the other four on the ground. Natasha stuck by Clint, covering Cap and Wanda when they were otherwise occupied.   
Above them, Thor roared and swung his hammer in wide arches at Klaeo who yelled back just as savagely with grey bursts of fiery ash clouds of his own.   
"YOU'RE WEAK, ODINSON!" Klaeo laughed maniacally at Thor who replied with a bolt of lightning.   
" _Klaeo's armor protects him from physical attacks. It cannot be breached_." Informed Vision as he circled around the pair.   
" _God dammit, it's just like having J.A.R.V.I.S. again_." Muttered Tony, forlornly.   
" _If physical attacks won't work,_ " Cap grunted, throwing another creep over his shoulder before stomping on it's head. " _What do we do_?"   
" _Might I suggest a psychological approach?_ "   
Shooting yet another creep to ash, Clint quickly came to the understanding that Vision meant, Wanda going after Klaeo.   
And instantly, he hated the idea. A very large part of the archer was telling him to argue; to keep her away from danger. But this was Wanda. Wanda who had held her own against Ultron's forces because it was her job. Like he told her.  
Clint looked over to Wanda and found her already staring at him. Reluctantly, and with a clenched jaw, Clint nodded.   
" _You keep her safe, Vision. Ya hear?_ " Clint said evenly even though he didn't feel very stable.   
" _Certainly_." And then Vision was there, standing next to Wanda and holding her in his arms before taking her away. Like Pietro had.   
At the very thought of his name, something twisted in Clint's gut. Worry was fast approaching. But Clint was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and he had trained to not let his emotions get the better of him. Emotions were saved for after a fight, as was sentiment. Needing to keep his body moving so as not to be tempted to follow after the speedster, Clint pulled out another arrow and sent it into the head of a creep who was dangerously close to Cap.   
"107," he muttered.   
  
"Are we there yet?"   
"Almost," Loki snapped. Honestly, in all of his years, Loki had never met someone so irritating. Thor's friends were vastly more tolerable than Deadpool and look who he was stuck underground with.   
At least Barton's young lover was quieter. He was pretty, but pretty didn't make up for his naivety. A part of Loki wanted to corrupt it just to make the others hurt. But it wasn't the time for that. Frigga's tome was in the hands of that fool who stupidly worked for Thanos. And yes, so did Loki. But he had no choice and planned to betray the Titan as soon as he had the tesseract's power for his own.   
"Are we there yet?" The trickster was about to snarl something rude when he suddenly realized that yes, they were there.   
"What's that?" Asked Pietro as he pointed over at the other end of the room. The walls were high and made of dark stone. None of them could see the ceiling because it was so dark. The only light source was from what Pietro pointed towards. A sphere of yellow light circling around what they came for.   
"That's the tome." Loki announced; though he didn't announce that he could feel ill power engulfing the room.   
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Deadpool's tone was cheerful as he took a step forward. And Loki would've let him. But a fight was near, that much the trickster knew.   
"Not so fast. It wouldn't be that easy."   
"What do you mean?" Asked Pietro and Loki wanted to glare at them because it was so obvious.   
"This room is laced with traps. Possibly another army. And that sphere over there is disastrous. You have to be painstakingly fast to be able to get the tome and get out before it tears you apart from the inside out."   
"Does that mean I have to get it?"   
"Well you could, unless you wanted me to spend about twenty minutes trying to disarm it. It would mean that you'd most likely be killed. Or close to it."   
"I won't die," Pietro said with the naive confidence that defied logic.   
"I could do it, I have a healing factor that's pretty sick-"   
"No, you wouldn't be fast enough. Like I just said, you have to be really fast. Or I take twenty minutes to undo it." As they argued, a glowing mist began to form on the room's floor. And just like the one above ground, over 100 creepers mangled themselves up, but these ones glowed white in the darkness.   
"Something tells me that we do not have twenty minutes." Pietro's heart began to race at the sight before him. Beside the speedster, Loki sighed.   
"You're right about that." And before Pietro could reply, Deadpool lunged forward and started slicing anything close to him.   
"Die ya creepy ghosts!" He yelled. "There's 103, right there baby! 104!" Pietro and Loki watched for a moment, equal parts impressed and concerned.   
"We'll have to deal with these creatures," Loki began with a glare. "All you have to do is knock the tome off of the pedestal and the creatures should stop coming." Pietro smirked, so very sure of himself, and ran towards the glowing sphere.   
  
Leaving Nat with Cap, Clint clambered his way up to a better vantage point on a nearby building with three floors. Truthfully, he was getting tired, but he wasn't about to admit that.   
Above him, Stark joined Vision and Thor as they distracted Klaeo while Wanda worked her magic to undo the Asgardian-Kree's armor. Even from his perch, Clint could see the red tendrils of her magic edging towards their enemy.   
" _You got it, baby girl,_ " he thought at her. She didn't reply but he knew she heard.   
Clint went to draw another arrow but when he found none, he sighed. He set the device that called the arrows down a meter from himself. A minute of inaction wouldn't be a big problem. That was what he thought, until he heard a hissing sound from behind.   
"Dammit," he muttered at the sight of five creeps clawing their way over the ledge. "Hand to hand it is." Clint pulled out his knifes that sat on the inside of his boots and charged at the closest one. He ducked under the arm that swung at him, before dragging the blade across it's throat. The thing screeched before shattering into ash. The next one came and Clint tucked and rolled out of the way, and then followed through by slicing one of it's legs off. It fell and gave Clint the chance to run the blade into the bottom of it's skull. He felt the one coming up behind him and threw his right arm to protect his face. But when the creep's skin made contact with the archer's, it burned, and Clint wanted to be sick at the smell of burning skin. He yelled out before he charged upright and stabbed it in the face. The next two came and Clint dispatched of them quickly; being careful to avoid contact.   
Out of danger for the moment, Clint hissed at the sight of three large, red burns wrapping halfway around his forearm. Definitely second degree burns.   
" _Clint?_ " Natasha called over the comms.   
" _I'm alright. Just don't touch these things. They burn._ "   
" _Understood. Cap's hit and sitting out for now._ "  
" _Holy shit, is he ok?!_ " Asked Stark, not bothering to hide his concern.   
" _I'm fine, Tony. Don't worry about it._ " But the tired and pained edge to Steve's tone fooled no one.   
" _Nat,_ " Clint called, " _I'm coming to you._ " And then Clint gathered up his arrows that lay by the retrieving device, put them in his quiver, and climbed down the building using one of his cables. His arm stung and fatigue was close at hand. But Clint gritted his teeth and soldiered on.  
  
Above them all, Thor barreled into Klaeo, knocking his attack on Tony away. Thor, Tony and Vision had pushed Klaeo closer to the tower where Wanda stood. Her eyes glowed red as her fingers flickered and her wrists turned.  
It was tiring, breaking past the magic that shrouded the Asgardian-Kree. It was heavy, thick and sinister. It made her skin crawl as she seeps her own power through it. Her breath caught in her throat when a sharp surge of power tried to push her back.   
" _You got it, baby girl._ " Clint's voice in her head stated; so full of confidence and trust. He didn't doubt her, he knew she could do it. And with that in mind, Wanda push forward. Past the point of comfort, until her head started to ache.  
She spared a thought for her twin, thinking of him underground, fighting and doing his best to help. Her brother, putting his life on the line for their teammates, friends. But she knew him almost better than she knew herself. If Pietro had any reason to risk his own life, it'd be for her and the archer they both loved.   
So Wanda gritted her teeth, and pushed even harder.  
The pain was becoming unbearable, but still she pushed. Her focus became single-minded as she weaved her magic around the clasps on Klaeo's armor. He was going to fail, they would stop him, everyone would be alright.   
Amidst the chaos, Stark's suit's repulsors and Thor's yelling, Wanda heard the tiny click as the magic surrounding Klaeo disintegrated. The clasps came undone and the armor cracked into shards that fell away.   
"NO! HOW DARE YOU!" Klaeo screeched, turning towards Wanda with a sickening hatred in his eyes. His hand reached towards her as a cloud of ash raced from it. And she would've blocked it, red swirls protecting against the dark ones, but she was tired and her body was giving out.   
For a moment, she thought that it was the end. But then, Thor was calling her name, Tony was shooting at Klaeo and Vision was there, scooping her up in his arms and taking her to safety. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief before falling unconscious with her head on his shoulder.   
  
Pain, unlike anything else he'd ever felt, coursed through him. Every single muscle felt like razor edges, slicing him from the inside. His skull felt as though it was growing smaller by the second. Pietro's skin was probably the worst part: everything that touched it, no matter how small, felt like a stinging nettle being dragged over his skin. He would've screamed if his throat wasn't full of his own blood and spit.   
A part of Pietro wanted to give up. Wanted to run away from it all. Wanted the pain to stop.   
But he was doing this, going through this pain, for a reason. Sure, people would say it was because Klaeo needed to be stopped, Los Angeles needed to be saved, he was the only one who was quick enough to get it. But in all honesty, Pietro's reasons were far smaller than that; and far more selfish.   
He wanted to see Clint in the morning, with bed hair and his sweat pants low on his hips. He thought of how Clint would grumble out a 'G'mornin' and head straight for the coffee machine without his eyes being open.   
He wanted to catch Clint's arrows while he trained, aggravating the archer just so the speedster could apologize with a kiss.   
He wanted to see Wanda laugh along with Sam, and roll her eyes at Stark's lame jokes, wanted to see her fall asleep on the couch next to Clint (who would've fallen asleep first).  
Nothing extravagant, nothing heroic. Just selfishly simple moments of happiness.   
And it was with those thoughts in mind that Pietro surged forward. His hand landed on the tome, and the leather felt like acid. With a soundless scream, he pushed it off the pedestal.   
For an instant, everything hurt so much that Pietro couldn't actually comprehend it. And then it was over and he was falling, and landing heavily on the ground. Several metres away, Deadpool was laughing and cheering as he continued swinging his swords. Loki was more elegant and quiet but he still fought.   
And there was Pietro, body slumped on the cold ground, and his mind tried to replay a memory that felt similar to this.   
A tiny voice was telling him that something, no, someone, was missing. Someone important. But Pietro's body was too damaged and his mind too weak to figure it out.  
It felt like falling asleep, really. And Pietro didn't feel very much of anything once his eyes closed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that all happened. Lots of Maximoff feelings and Thor yelling and arrow shooting and Deadpool jokes...  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...
> 
> And Wanda fainting.  
> And yes, Pietro being badly hurt and fainting.  
> And making that the ending.  
> And having such a bitch of a cliffhanger. 
> 
> Sorry.  
> But hey, now that I'm not writing battles I think that the next chapter will come sooner. I like writing feelings and talking more than action so I'm hopeful.  
> The only thing that I'll give away about the next chapter is that Deadpool calls Clint hombre and Tony plays doctor. 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	23. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YASSSSS!!!  
> Ximena13 and I are on a roll! Teamwork makes the dream work! (I know that that's cheesy but I didn't come up with it I swear!)  
> Yes, I assure, this is the real chapter. And it hasn't even been a month.  
> I'm not lying.  
> This is real.  
> We did it.  
> I told you that I don't like writing fighting sequences but feelings... feelings is my thing. Just saying :P  
> So here you go, chapter 22! 
> 
> Enjoy

The machines beeped around him, the doctors and nurses walked back and forth, the lights were too bright. All of these were small observations that Clint's mind just didn't care about. It was Nat who walked him from the ambulance to the bed before leaving to be assessed herself. The nurses tried to get the archer to lie down but to no avail. So they cleaned the few cuts that they could get and dressed his burn. Then they left him there with white, clenched fists and a locked jaw. No one wanted to be around Clint. Except Sam. The man said nothing; just walked over and sat down with a sigh. Sam knew that if Clint wanted to talk, he would. So Sam closed his eyes and waited. Even though he knew that Clint probably wouldn't move, let alone speak, he waited. 

After the fighting was done, Klaeo fallen and all of the creeps taken care of, Clint felt tired. Sure, relief resonated throughout his body but the tiredness was heavier. But then the tiredness went away at the sight of Wanda in Vision's arms. The first thing he noticed was that her eyes were closed. They were always open, wide and bright and  _open_. And then Sam was by his side with a hand on Clint's shoulder.   
"She's alive, see?" Sam pointed out when Vision laid her out on the ambulance stretcher. Her mouth twitched and her chest rose and fell with her breathing. "Hardly a scratch on her. She's fine."   
"Yeah," Clint muttered. He shot Sam a grin before heading over to Nat. She was calming down the Hulk which worried him a little. But she looked fine to Clint. She wasn't wearing a mask, just a gentle kindness.  
Since the fighting was over, Clint hadn't thought of Pietro. He hadn't thought about his sister Laura or the kids in a few days and that was normal because Clint expected them to be ok because they were always there even when they weren't together. Just like he expected Pietro to be. And for a few more seconds, Clint's mind was calm.   
But then Deadpool was carrying the speedster in his arms and there was blood. So much blood. Nasty lacerations ran up Pietro's arms; the shirt all torn with a few pieces clinging to his torso. The silver hair that Clint had run his fingers through a thousand times was now crimson.   
Someone called Pietro's name. An ugly sound so full of desperate pain that it made Clint cringe. He didn't realize that it was his own voice. After that, metal hands were on him and Clint's world spun around him until it all turned dark. 

"Cut that out."   
"Stark, let me do it. I can do it."   
"Now, now, Captain, I told them that I would take care of you."   
"I can get myself my own glass of water."   
"Then what kind of carer would I be if you did?" With a sigh, Steve leaned his head back on the pillow while Tony poured the water in a glass. Steve had to suppress a groan when Tony put a straw in and held it to his mouth. But he acquiesced and Tony smiled.   
"Thank you."   
"Your welcome, Captain Complaining." At that, the captain smiled which certainly did  _not_ make Tony's heart melt. Not even a little.   
"How're the others?"   
"Everyone's pretty much fine," Tony answered as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He didn't notice when Steve stiffened. "Thor's taken his brother back to HQ. Deadpool is lurking around, trying to get someone to have wheelchair races with him. Rhodey, Sam, Nat and Banner are all up and about. Barton looks like he's either about to kill someone or cry. Wanda's awake now and Vision's taking care of her."   
"And Pietro?" Tony shook his head.   
"We don't know yet. Helen Cho was called in and she arrived only a few minutes ago. We just gotta wait."   
"I can't imagine Clint was happy to hear that."   
"He hasn't said anything. Hasn't moved, actually." Steve watched as something melancholic clouded Tony's expression. "You didn't see him, Steve. When he called out the speedster's name... I haven't heard anyone sound so broken. And his face had more expressions on it than I've ever seen. Barton's so unflappable, so chill and in that moment... he looked like a completely different person. Not the guy who would pat any dog he passed or couldn't function without coffee in the morning. It was terrible."   
"Tony..." Steve said softly because he didn't know what else to say. Tony looked at him then, brown eyes full of some many emotions. But then they fell to his mouth and Tony was leaning in and Steve flinched.   
"What?" Tony asked, pulling back confusedly.   
"What are you doing?"   
"Ah- going in for a kiss?"   
"Here? There are people here!"   
"So? Who cares if-" And then Stark stopped, his mind working it out and  _oh._ _Right._ "Ah, right. I gotcha."   
"Sorry. Some habits are kinda hard to break." And there was that little lilt of a Brooklyn accent that made Tony's heart flutter quietly.   
"Baby steps, Cap. One day at a time."   
"Yes, Doctor Stark." Said 'doctor' wrinkled his nose at that.   
"Can I at least hold your hand?" Steve didn't answer. Instead, he took Tony's hand in his own with a small smile and squeezed.   
"When we get back to HQ, you can kiss me, if you want."   
"Aye, aye Captain." 

Nat stood off to the side with her arms crossed. Laura had arrived only moments earlier. She asked about Pietro and Nat had told her that Clint was in love with the kid who had almost died. Again. And that was all Laura needed. She went and sat next to her brother and put her arms around his shoulders. Natasha watched as Clint froze for a moment until he turned and crumpled in his sister's embrace. Clint's face was pressed against Laura's shoulder so Nat couldn't see if the archer was crying. But his body shook as if he were sobbing. Full body tremors.   
"You alright?" To her right, Bruce approached with the careful look he usually had.   
"Me? Fine. You?"   
"I'm alright. Whatever hurt the other guy doesn't hurt me."   
"That's pretty lucky." Mentally, Natasha kicked herself because Bruce having the Hulk within him wasn't lucky. None of it was. "Have you heard from Helen Cho?"   
"She's still working on Pietro. It might take a while longer since there's so much damage. But he'll be fine. I'm positive."   
"Could you try telling that to Clint?" Natasha asked jokingly, leaning back against the wall. Bruce nervously fretted with glasses.   
"I don't think he'd listen to me."   
"Well don't take it personally, he's not listening to anyone."   
"What about his sister?"   
"She hasn't said anything." For a moment they watched as Laura rubbed Clint's shoulder blades as Clint gripped the sides of her jacket.  
"He'll be ok, Natasha."  
"Are you positive about that?" Bruce nodded, looking sure. That settled the nerve in her stomach.  
Then Bruce asked, "are we ok?" For a moment, the assassin couldn't answer. The question threw her off slightly so her answer came out weakly.  
"I think so. As we were, we weren't. But as we are now, I think we are. Or will be."  
"Good." Bruce nodded with a small smile that Natasha readily returned before looking back at Clint. The pair of them stood a while; each lost in their own thoughts. 

"Hey hombre, what're you doing here?" Deadpool asked, not looking worse for wear apart from a few scratches in his suit. The merc had found Clint meandering down the hallway and thought it odd that the eagle-eyed, sharp shooter was looking so lost. "Aren't you supposed to be bed ridden? Do you need me to tuck you in and read you a bedtime story?"   
"Shut up you mouthy bastard," replied Clint with a roll of his eyes as he kept walking down the hallway. Clint was too tired to even try to sound annoyed or snarky. "I'm going to see Pietro."   
"Oh?" Deadpool followed. He became very interested at the speedster's name. "Is the kid awake now?"   
"Not yet. But I wanna see him."   
"Ooh. So what, you're gonna spill your heart out to him and beg for him to wake up on the off chance that he can hear you while he's unconscious?"   
"What? No. I'm going to kept Wanda company." Deadpool nodded but didn't reply. When the merc kept walking without saying anything, Clint became worried. "What is it?" For a moment, the archer thought Deadpool wasn't going to say anything. And when the merc did, it wasn't what he was expecting.   
"He's going to be ok, right? Pietro, I mean."   
"Yes." Clint answered quickly. Any hesitation lead to doubt which lead to worry and Clint really couldn't handle that. "He's going to be fine."   
"Phew! God, he had me going for a moment there. Well that feels like a weight off my shoulders." The readiness with which Deadpool accepted that startled Clint for a moment.   
"Yeah. I gotta go." Before Clint could leave though, Deadpool spoke.   
"You know, while I was carrying him out from underground, he kept mumbling something."   
"What?" And damn that lunatic merc for hesitating; reveling in the suspense.   
"He kept mumbling your name over and over again." And well damn, if that didn't twist something adoring and horrid in the archer's heart. All he could manage was a nod before stalking off down the hall. An orderly had to jump out the way lest she be bowled down by Clint. He could hear Deadpool cackling from behind. 

It didn't take Clint long to find Pietro's room. Wanda was already there, sitting on Pietro's right with his hand in hers. She didn't look up; she didn't need to. Clint took the seat beside her without a word and wrapped and arm over her shoulders.   
"Nothing yet?" He asked, staring at Pietro's blank face. He wasn't used to the speedster being so still. It just brought back horrid memories of the last time Clint had seen him so statute. But this time his eyes were closed; not wide and vacant.   
"Not yet," Wanda replied without ever taking her eyes off her brother. "He is healing. But he is not yet ready to wake up."   
"He will, baby girl. He will."   
"Maybe you should talk to him." When Clint only managed an incredulous look, Wanda continued. "I've been sitting here, talking to him. He moves his hands a little but nothing else. Maybe he'll react more if he heard your voice."   
And for a moment, Clint felt shy. Nervous too, but shy. He wasn't keen on being affectionate or anything in front of anyone; even Wanda. But Pietro needed to wake up. Clint needed him to. So with a nod, Clint got up and sat on the bed by the speedster's hip. He placed a careful hand on the side of Pietro's face before he spoke.   
"Hey, you quick bastard..." He was stuck for words. But a reassuring nod from Wanda urged him on. "The doctors say you'll be ok. That's good news, right? So all you gotta do is wake up. You don't even have to wake up for long. Just enough to say hi, tell us how you're feeling and that you're sorry for making Wanda and I scared witless with worry over you." He left out the  _again._ "I just need you to wake up, ok? Come on Pietro, open your eyes." When nothing happened, Clint moved his hand down to Pietro's free one and squeezed. "You feel that? You gotta wake up and answer me or I won't know. Come on kid. Wake up. Wake up so Wanda can hug you till you suffocate." The archer ignored all of his earlier shyness and concern about appearing affectionate in public as he leaned in closer. "Wake up so I can kiss you."   
For a long moment, with bated breath, nothing happened. Pietro didn't move a muscle and Clint's shoulders dropped. He really thought that that would've worked.   
"It's ok, Clint. Give it time."   
"Yeah," he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I should've seen that one coming."   
"Hm-" Both Wanda and Clint turned at the sound. Pietro's eyebrows were twitching as his eyes moved behind closed lids.   
"Brother?" Wanda asked, voice barely above a whisper. Pietro keened slightly before sucking in a breath.   
"Wanda?" He asked and Clint let out a sigh which bordered on a hysterical giggle. Every ounce of worry bleed from him in rivulets.   
"Yes, I'm here. And Clint too. We're both here." It look like it took a lot of effort for the speedster to open his eyes. But he did and Clint had never been more in love with that particular shade of blue. A lopsided smile pulled at Pietro's lips and his voice sounded coarse when he spoke.   
"How did I know that... it would be you two... who I would wake up to?" With a small chuckle, Clint put his hand over Wanda's which still clasped Pietro's tightly.   
"You're not getting rid of us that easily, kid. And you're not leaving us anytime soon."   
And didn't that just make Pietro's smile grow even wider. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this chapter was really chopped up but I wanted to get a taste of what everyone was going through (except for Thor and Loki, my bad!)  
> But yeah, birdbros sticking together, being-killed-by-feels Clint, Nat and Bruce (I liked them better as friends and I couldn't have them staying mad at each other!!!).  
> I bet you weren't expecting Deadpool to be as worried as he was :P  
> Lemme know what you guys think! And give your love and well wishes to my darling beta Ximena13 because she had technology difficulties but still persevered and got this chapter done! 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


	24. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint sees Pietro in the speedster's room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'll be the first to apologize for being so late.  
> But things have been hectic and it has just turned out to be a very late update. I'm sorry and I thank you for being so wonderfully patient :)  
> You are all so wonderful and I won't keep you waiting any longer!  
> Also send love to Ximena13 who edited this and one other story while having exams. Also wish her grandfather a belated 92nd birthday! 
> 
> Oh btw, my tumblr is: keeping-10-people-happy.tumblr.com if you wanted to chat. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

"Clint? What are you doing out here?" The archer had been sitting in one of the chairs situated in the hallway, outside of Pietro's room. He had his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. It was Laura who came up to him.  
"Hey," he replied meekly with a small smile to match.  
"Is Pietro ok?" She asked, sitting down next to her brother. Clint then put his arm around her shoulders before leaning back with a sigh.  
"Yeah, he's fine. He's awake now." Laura waited for him to continue. "Wanda is in there with him. I thought it'd be best for them to talk. Y'know, sibling stuff." Laura nodded, understanding perfectly well what he meant.  
"And what about you? How're you holding up?"  
"I'm alright. Tired and sore, but better since I saw Pietro wake up. Knowing that he's awake and fine is enough for me right now."  
"Nat was right, you really do love him."  
"Yeah," Clint laughed weakly. More of a huff with a smile than anything. "Yeah I do, Laura. That bratty, annoying, smug little bastard. An old guy like me loving a young, speedy guy like him? It sounds exhausting."  
"You're not that old," smiled Laura as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Though it is kind of weird."  
"What is?"  
"Well, he's Wanda's brother. And you treat Wanda like your own daughter, and she treats you like her father. And you're dating her brother. Doesn't that seem a bit weird to you?"  
"Only if I keep thinking about it." They both fell silent for a moment. Clint was tired and Laura was relieved that her idiotic brother was ok. "How're the kids?"  
"They're good. They're with their father, they don't know about LA."  
"How is Richard?"  
"Fine. Though he was confused about the giant hole in our wall."  
"Oh... right. Forgot about that."  
"Yeah." Laura said sternly, though there was an edge of humor in her voice. "You did."

While the others had been taken to the hospital, Thor took his brother back to HQ. But taking Loki back to his cell sat ill with the thunder god. Therefor, he took Loki to his room which was large and equipped with his own lounge. It was nothing like his quarters on Asgard but it served its purpose well.  
"Not to my cell, brother mine?" Loki asked, hands behind his back as he took a turn about the room. Most likely judging every single aspect of it.  
"I thought you would find it more to your liking, here."  
"In your room?" The deeper meaning wasn't lost on Thor.  
"You usually enjoy my quarters," the blonde flirted back, enjoying the slight smile on his brother's lips. Once Loki was done with his inspection, he came to stand in front of his brother. Temptingly close; a mere arm’s length away.  
"I wonder what Odin would say?" Loki said, something cruel creeping into his tone, and Thor knew that the flirtatious banter was over. Any mention of the All father set something icy in Loki. An iciness that protected Loki while hurting anyone who tried to get close. Namely Thor; the only fool who would try.  
"About what?"  
"About us. His precious heir and his pet frost giant. Raised as brothers but treating each other as something far more scandalous." Loki leaned in, with hooded eyes, towards his golden brother. "Have you told him? Told him how I was your first kiss." Loki didn't miss the clench of Thor's jaw and so he continued. "All sticky and sweet after we gorged ourselves on sweets from one of the banquets. No? Have you told him that you can't bed a maiden without having me in your mind?" Loki stepped closer and Thor knew that his next words would most likely push him over the edge. Loki's voice was barely over a whisper. "Or how about the fact that you have already bedded me? That it is your disgraced brother that you wish to marry and that you desire to spend the years until Ragnarok with me as yours? What would your father say?"  
"Enough." Thor growled and pushed Loki away.  
"Why? It is truth, darling brother."  
"Do not sour the only sweet memories I have of you." Thor felt a lump form thickly in his throat as Loki just laughed at him.  
"Oh come now, Thor. Getting sad is boring. Get angry."  
"Is that what you want? Anger?" Loki didn't reply, just stood there with clenched fists. The sigh Thor heaved dragged his shoulders down. He was tired and all of his rage had been spent on Klaeo. "Enough of this. We have mother's tome. That is what you wanted, correct?" Again, Loki didn't answer. Just stared at his brother. "Take it and leave." In response, Loki laughed before sneering at Thor.  
"What, you're letting me escape? Aren't you supposed to drag me back to Asgard and lock me away forever?"  
"You saw how well it worked last time." Thor's weak joke fell flat between them. "I know I cannot keep you. No matter how hard I try. So stop goading me and leave before I am tempted to try and keep you." Thor turned away from the trickster with tense shoulders and clenched fists. He jolted when he felt Loki's hands on his waist.  
"Come now, Thor," the trickster purred; his mouth brushing against Thor's ear. "What would be the fun in that?" And that was about as much as Thor could take. He turned around and pulled Loki's face to his own. The kiss ended up as a hard press of mouths. But Loki was used to Thor's brashness; almost fondly. When they pulled back, there was something wild and hopeful in the blonde's eyes.  
"Satisfied?" The word was a growl and Loki could feel it rumbling through the other's chest. The trickster grinned wickedly; eyes crinkled and the corners of his mouth curling.  
"Never."

Laura was telling Clint about the project her son was working on for school when Wanda stepped out of the room. The Scarlet Witch smiled at Laura before turning towards the archer.  
"He wants to see you." Said Wanda, her smile never faltering. Clint didn't need to be told twice. One moment he was pressing a kiss on Laura's cheek, the next, he was on his feet and wrapping Wanda up in a hug.  
"Thanks baby girl." The archer muttered into the young woman's hair. Wanda smiled at the archer as he stepped into Pietro's room.  
"C'mon." Laura stated as she stood herself up. "Let's go see if we can find something decent to eat."

Clint took a moment to just look at Pietro when he entered the room. The speedster was wearing one of those heinous hospital gowns and was lying underneath a white blanket. It didn't look warm at all. There were tubes running from his arms up to an IV drip and to other machines. The kid's hair had been washed of all the blood and his skin looked as good as new.  
"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me like some perverted old man?" Pietro called out with a humorous lilt and a lopsided grin. His voice sounds a little too raspy for Clint's liking.  
"Yeah, yeah," Clint huffed as he walked on over to the bed and sat down next to Pietro's waist. "Make fun of my being older. It's not my fault that you fell in love with someone my age."  
"I know," sighed the speedster theatrically. "Being in love with someone from the fifteen hundreds is so hard."  
"Shut up, you brat." Pietro's grin turned into an all out smile at that. It turned soft when Clint cupped Pietro's left cheek in his hand. "How do you feel?"  
"Ok now. There's a dull ache but it is not so bad. I cannot remember the pain so well. But I am all better thanks to Dr. Cho, she must have magic."  
"It's all of that science stuff she and Banner go on about. But Thor says that our magic and science are one in the same, so I think that means you're right."  
"If only there was a camera in here to record that."  
"Not a chance," Clint said jokingly. He leaned in and kissed Pietro softly. It was meant to be chaste but Pietro being Pietro, had no patience for chaste. Soon Clint felt a hand on the back of his neck, guiding him closer before Pietro's tongue swiped across his lower lip. All of the anxiety and worry washed away as Clint lost himself in the kiss; the tracing tongues, playful bites and Pietro's little breaths that verged on whimpers. When Clint pulled back for air, he found worry in Pietro's eyes. He didn't know that Pietro was worried about the broken look he wore.  
"Clint?" Pietro whispered. Then the words just tumbled out.  
"Y'know, I called out your name and didn't even realize it, I was so shocked." Clint admitted, albeit, shakily because Pietro got hurt so bad and Clint wasn't there to save him and the kid almost died again! "It brought me back to Sokovia and you getting shot but this was a thousand times worse. There was so much blood and you were torn up and I didn't even know. All I saw was Wade carrying you out and I thought you were dead and I-"  
"Clint," Pietro gasped. And Clint would've kept on talking if it weren't for the fact that his breath had been stolen away. Stolen by Pietro pressing his forehead to Barton's and cupping the archer's face in his hands. Clint felt Pietro's thumbs running soothingly along his cheekbones. "Shh, Clint. I am here. With you. I am safe."  
"Yeah but-"  
"No, Clint." Pietro pulled back to stare intensely into the other's eyes. "I am alive and breathing right now. That is all that matters now. Do not worry anymore. I am here with you, right where I want to be." It was something in the way in which Pietro spoke that finally broke Clint. Years of stoicism and beating down his feelings because that's what he was trained to do all went out the window.  
"Fuck," Clint cursed which sounded dangerously close to a sob. He pulled Pietro into his arms and pressed as much of himself against the other as he could. He needed to feel Pietro's heartbeat against his own. Needed him close. Needed to feel him alive. And Pietro clung back just as tightly. Any snarky comment about the tightness burned from his mind because Clint was as desperate for him as Pietro was for the archer.  
"I am so sorry," Pietro whispered because he felt like he needed to say something; he just wasn't sure what.  
"I should've been there with you. To protect you."  
"Be with me now. Please!" Clint nodded in response. "I love you."  
"Goddamn you, you bastard." There was a bite to Clint's words; but the pain they were meant to have was all Clint's. "I love you so fucking much."  
"That makes me so happy to hear."  
And then Clint kissed Pietro, or Pietro kissed Clint. Neither were sure who moved first but they really didn't care either way. But this kiss wasn't as desperate as before. It was slower but still as heady. It still had Pietro whimpering and clutching at whatever part of Clint he could reach. It still had Clint's head spinning and his heart swelling with affection. And even when they parted for breath, they barely moved an inch from the other; pressing their foreheads together or pressing quick kisses over the other's face. Again, Pietro told Clint he loved him and Clint responded in kind. Over and over again they said it and each time it just solidified a fact. The fact that they knew there was nowhere to run because the only place they wanted to be was with the other just being two idiots fumbling and finding their way together.

Out in the hallway, Natasha had Deadpool in a headlock and a knife pressing against his ribs when she saw him trying to sneak into Pietro's hospital room. When Nat made him talk, the merc said that he was just going in to say hello. It took Nat almost dislocating his arms for her to find out his real objective: get a video of the two being all sappy for blackmailing purposes later. She broke his phone and his shoulder which healed soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end, friends!  
> I hoped you liked this wee thing, it turned out shorter than I thought.  
> But yay for our boys getting back together and being alright :D  
> And siblings are important so if you have them, go give them a hug but don't explain why! Just hug them for like 10 seconds and then walk away. And then tell me about it if it's funny :P  
> Decided to end it here since I've left it for so long. Thanks for everything guys, it's been rad as hell :) 
> 
> See you in the next one :)


End file.
